diff --git a/igor2/__init__.py b/igor2/__init__.py
index 020875d..de5a36c 100644
--- a/igor2/__init__.py
+++ b/igor2/__init__.py
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # flake8: noqa: F401
 """Interface for reading binary IGOR files."""
-from ._version import __version__, __version_tuple__
+try:
+    from ._version import __version__, __version_tuple__
+except ImportError
+    # semver not working on Python 3.6
+    __version__ = "unknown"
+
 
 from . import binarywave