diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e3d55cc880452c6b97d5e20b6b87dec7ba1555b9..099ae74a65c1af165d4e5091da378e26434b17fa 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ if(DD4HEP_USE_HEPMC3)
 
   # Optional dependencies for compressed input support
   if(HEPMC3_VERSION VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL "3.02.05")
-    option(DD4HEP_HEPMC3_COMPRESSION_SUPPORT "Enable reading of compressed HepMC files" ON)
+    option(DD4HEP_HEPMC3_COMPRESSION_SUPPORT "Enable reading of compressed HepMC files" OFF)
     if(DD4HEP_HEPMC3_COMPRESSION_SUPPORT)
       find_package(ZLIB REQUIRED)
       find_package(LibLZMA REQUIRED)