diff --git a/package/motioneye/update.py b/package/motioneye/update.py
index 8a2ee92ac2..9a78130d4c 100644
--- a/package/motioneye/update.py
+++ b/package/motioneye/update.py
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ def get_version():
 def get_all_versions():
     url = _LIST_VERSIONS_URL
     url += '?_=' + str(int(time.time())) # prevents caching
-    
+
+    want_prereleases = subprocess.check_output('source /data/etc/os.conf && echo $os_prereleases', shell=True, stderr=subprocess.STDOUT).strip() == 'true'
+
     try:
         logging.debug('board is %s' % _BOARD)
         logging.debug('fetching %s...' % url)
@@ -61,7 +63,7 @@ def get_all_versions():
 
         versions = []
         for release in releases:
-            if release.get('prerelease') and not os.path.exists('/data/etc/prereleases'):
+            if release.get('prerelease') and not want_prereleases:
                 continue
             
             for asset in release.get('assets', []):