diff --git a/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl b/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
index e15087c2e..eeb0d6de8 100644
--- a/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
+++ b/apps/emqx_conf/src/emqx_conf_schema.erl
@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ fields("node") ->
                 #{
                     mapping => "mria.shard_transport",
                     importance => ?IMPORTANCE_HIDDEN,
-                    default => gen_rpc,
+                    default => distr,
                     desc => ?DESC(db_default_shard_transport)
                 }
             )},