diff --git a/helpers/postgresql.py b/helpers/postgresql.py
index f3660c8f..8dbb42cc 100644
--- a/helpers/postgresql.py
+++ b/helpers/postgresql.py
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ def write_recovery_conf(self, leader_hash):
             leader = urlparse(leader_hash["address"])
             logger.info("Write Recovery Conf: %s:%s", leader.hostname, leader.port)
             f.write("""
-primary_conninfo = 'user=%(user)s password=%(password)s host=%(hostname)s port=%(port)s sslmode=require sslcompression=1'
+primary_conninfo = 'user=%(user)s password=%(password)s host=%(hostname)s port=%(port)s sslmode=prefer sslcompression=1'
             """ % {"user": leader.username, "password": leader.password, "hostname": leader.hostname, "port": leader.port})
 
         if "recovery_conf" in self.config: