diff --git a/dist/tools/dhcpv6-pd_ia/pkg/__init__.py b/dist/tools/dhcpv6-pd_ia/pkg/__init__.py
index abbb2311fb..22b15e9787 100644
--- a/dist/tools/dhcpv6-pd_ia/pkg/__init__.py
+++ b/dist/tools/dhcpv6-pd_ia/pkg/__init__.py
@@ -27,9 +27,7 @@ __email__ = "m.lenders@fu-berlin.de"
 class PackageManagerFactory(object):
     @staticmethod
     def _get_linux_distro():
-        if hasattr(platform, "linux_distribution"):
-            return platform.linux_distribution()[0]
-        elif os.path.exists("/etc/os-release"):
+        if os.path.exists("/etc/os-release"):
             with open("/etc/os-release") as f:
                 for line in f:
                     m = re.match(r"^NAME=\"(.+)\"$", line)
@@ -42,7 +40,7 @@ class PackageManagerFactory(object):
         system = platform.system()
         if system == "Linux":
             system = cls._get_linux_distro()
-        if system in ["Debian", "Ubuntu", "Linux Mint"]:
+        if system.startswith(("Debian", "Ubuntu", "Linux Mint")):
             return Apt("Debian")
         if system in ["Arch Linux"]:
             return PacMan("Arch")