diff --git a/compat/bswap.h b/compat/bswap.h
index 7fed637ed09648b155441e883302e6b96afb7202..d47c0035449b412ee074c9a94c0f5281211f5f7e 100644
--- a/compat/bswap.h
+++ b/compat/bswap.h
@@ -149,11 +149,12 @@ static inline uint64_t git_bswap64(uint64_t x)
  * and is faster on architectures with memory alignment issues.
  */
 
-#if defined(__i386__) || defined(__x86_64__) || \
+#if !defined(NO_UNALIGNED_LOADS) && ( \
+    defined(__i386__) || defined(__x86_64__) || \
     defined(_M_IX86) || defined(_M_X64) || \
     defined(__ppc__) || defined(__ppc64__) || \
     defined(__powerpc__) || defined(__powerpc64__) || \
-    defined(__s390__) || defined(__s390x__)
+    defined(__s390__) || defined(__s390x__))
 
 #define get_be16(p)	ntohs(*(unsigned short *)(p))
 #define get_be32(p)	ntohl(*(unsigned int *)(p))