diff --git a/meta-arago-distro/conf/distro/include/arago-prefs.inc b/meta-arago-distro/conf/distro/include/arago-prefs.inc
index f9fab020..dc55bfec 100644
--- a/meta-arago-distro/conf/distro/include/arago-prefs.inc
+++ b/meta-arago-distro/conf/distro/include/arago-prefs.inc
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/libgbm_keystone = "mesa"
PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/libgl_keystone = "mesa"
PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/mesa_keystone = "mesa"
-PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/kernel = "linux-ti-staging${ARAGO_KERNEL_SUFFIX}"
+PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/kernel ?= "linux-ti-staging${ARAGO_KERNEL_SUFFIX}"
 # For TI devices with only baremetal/TI RTOS support
PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/kernel_c66x = "linux-dummy"