diff --git a/package/base-files/files/bin/ipcalc.sh b/package/base-files/files/bin/ipcalc.sh
index 0132e8d9bf4..25114219a10 100755
--- a/package/base-files/files/bin/ipcalc.sh
+++ b/package/base-files/files/bin/ipcalc.sh
@@ -90,8 +90,9 @@ BEGIN {
 	}
 
 	if (ipaddr > start && ipaddr < end) {
-		print "ipaddr inside range" > "/dev/stderr"
-		exit(1)
+		print "warning: ipaddr inside range - this might not be supported in future releases of Openwrt" > "/dev/stderr"
+		# turn this into an error after Openwrt 24 has been released
+		# exit(1)
 	}
 
 	print "START="int2ip(start)