diff --git a/src/internal.c b/src/internal.c
index 9b8dcaf34..6c042ca7d 100644
--- a/src/internal.c
+++ b/src/internal.c
@@ -7257,9 +7257,9 @@ static int GetRecordHeader(WOLFSSL* ssl, const byte* input, word32* inOutIdx,
             WOLFSSL_MSG("DTLS handshake, skip RH version number check");
         else {
             WOLFSSL_MSG("SSL version error");
-            /* send alert per RFC 5246 Section 7.2.1 */
-            if(ssl->options.side == WOLFSSL_CLIENT_END) {
-                SendAlert(ssl, alert_fatal, handshake_failure);
+            /* send alert per RFC5246 Appendix E. Backward Compatibility */
+            if (ssl->options.side == WOLFSSL_CLIENT_END) {
+                SendAlert(ssl, alert_fatal, protocol_version);
             }
             return VERSION_ERROR;              /* only use requested version */
         }