diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 74b4554..0f16a2b 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])
 
 # prevent HAVE_QTxxx does not appear in AM_CONDITIONAL
+# in old ubuntu / debian distros
 m4_include(m4/ax_check_qt.m4)
+m4_include(m4/ax_cxx_compile_stdcxx_11.m4)
 
 m4_define(x_package_name, libpcscxx)
 m4_define(x_major, 3)