diff --git a/src/core/qgsprojutils.cpp b/src/core/qgsprojutils.cpp
index 7fb8a685e72..f36a27f833d 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsprojutils.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsprojutils.cpp
@@ -257,11 +257,15 @@ QStringList QgsProjUtils::searchPaths()
 #if PROJ_VERSION_MAJOR >= 6
   const QString path( proj_info().searchpath );
   QStringList paths;
-// #ifdef Q_OS_WIN
-#if 1 // -- see https://github.com/OSGeo/proj.4/pull/1497
+#if PROJ_VERSION_MINOR == 1 and PROJ_VERSION_PATCH == 0
+  // -- see https://github.com/OSGeo/proj.4/pull/1497
+  paths = path.split( ';' );
+#else
+#ifdef Q_OS_WIN
   paths = path.split( ';' );
 #else
   paths = path.split( ':' );
+#endif
 #endif
 
   QSet<QString> existing;