diff --git a/configure b/configure
index e298ec3d0..42f8ed013 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ function die {
 
 function detect_machine {
     local cpu=$(execute_check "uname -m 2>/dev/null")
-    local machine=$(execute_check "cat /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model 2>/dev/null")
+    local machine=$(execute_check "cat -v /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model 2>/dev/null")
     local hardware=$(execute_check "grep sunxi_platform /sys/class/sunxi_info/sys_info 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^.*: \(.*\)$/\1/'")
     if [ -z "$hardware" ]; then
         local hardware=$(execute_check "grep Hardware /proc/cpuinfo 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^.*: \(.*\)$/\1/'")