diff --git a/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go b/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
index b56986f..2142425 100644
--- a/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
+++ b/internal/controller/dragonfly_instance.go
@@ -235,8 +235,12 @@ func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) checkReplicaRole(ctx context.Context, pod *corev1.
 		}
 	}
 
-	if masterIp != redisMasterIp && masterIp != pod.Labels[resources.MasterIp] {
-		return false, nil
+	// for compatibily, to be remove in futur version
+	// check if the masterIp matches either the label (for compatibility) or the annotation
+	if masterIp != redisMasterIp {
+		if masterIp != pod.Labels[resources.MasterIpLabel] && masterIp != pod.Annotations[resources.MasterIp] {
+			return false, nil
+		}
 	}
 
 	return true, nil
@@ -354,6 +358,12 @@ func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) replicaOf(ctx context.Context, pod *corev1.Pod, ma
 		pod.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
 	}
 	pod.Annotations[resources.MasterIp] = masterIp
+
+	// for compatibily, to be remove in futur version
+	if !strings.Contains(masterIp, ":") {
+		pod.Labels[resources.MasterIpLabel] = masterIp
+	}
+
 	if err := dfi.client.Update(ctx, pod); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not update replica annotation: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -383,10 +393,16 @@ func (dfi *DragonflyInstance) replicaOfNoOne(ctx context.Context, pod *corev1.Po
 
 	dfi.log.Info("Marking pod role as master", "pod", pod.Name, "masterIp", masterIp)
 	pod.Labels[resources.Role] = resources.Master
+	// for compatibily, to be remove in futur version
+	if !strings.Contains(masterIp, ":") {
+		pod.Labels[resources.MasterIpLabel] = masterIp
+	}
+
 	if pod.Annotations == nil {
 		pod.Annotations = make(map[string]string)
 	}
 	pod.Annotations[resources.MasterIp] = masterIp
+
 	if err := dfi.client.Update(ctx, pod); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/internal/resources/const.go b/internal/resources/const.go
index e4c8ca6..79b5c11 100644
--- a/internal/resources/const.go
+++ b/internal/resources/const.go
@@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ const (
 	// KubernetesPartOfLabel is the name of a higher level application this one is part of
 	KubernetesPartOfLabelKey = "app.kubernetes.io/part-of"
 
-	MasterIp string = "operator.dragonflydb.io/masterIP"
+	MasterIpLabel string = "master-ip"
+	MasterIp      string = "operator.dragonflydb.io/masterIP"
 
 	Role string = "role"