diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/Kconfig b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/Kconfig
index 2a7bb6ccdcb7..a810f4dd34b1 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/Kconfig
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/Kconfig
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ config MACH_KUROBOX_PRO
 
 config MACH_DNS323
 	bool "D-Link DNS-323"
-	select GENERIC_NET_UTILS
 	select I2C_BOARDINFO if I2C
 	help
 	  Say 'Y' here if you want your kernel to support the
@@ -66,7 +65,6 @@ config MACH_DNS323
 
 config MACH_TS209
 	bool "QNAP TS-109/TS-209"
-	select GENERIC_NET_UTILS
 	help
 	  Say 'Y' here if you want your kernel to support the
 	  QNAP TS-109/TS-209 platform.
@@ -101,7 +99,6 @@ config MACH_LINKSTATION_LS_HGL
 
 config MACH_TS409
 	bool "QNAP TS-409"
-	select GENERIC_NET_UTILS
 	help
 	  Say 'Y' here if you want your kernel to support the
 	  QNAP TS-409 platform.
diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/dns323-setup.c b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/dns323-setup.c
index cd483bfb5ca8..d13344b2ddcd 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/dns323-setup.c
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/dns323-setup.c
@@ -173,10 +173,42 @@ static struct mv643xx_eth_platform_data dns323_eth_data = {
 	.phy_addr = MV643XX_ETH_PHY_ADDR(8),
 };
 
+/* dns323_parse_hex_*() taken from tsx09-common.c; should a common copy of these
+ * functions be kept somewhere?
+ */
+static int __init dns323_parse_hex_nibble(char n)
+{
+	if (n >= '0' && n <= '9')
+		return n - '0';
+
+	if (n >= 'A' && n <= 'F')
+		return n - 'A' + 10;
+
+	if (n >= 'a' && n <= 'f')
+		return n - 'a' + 10;
+
+	return -1;
+}
+
+static int __init dns323_parse_hex_byte(const char *b)
+{
+	int hi;
+	int lo;
+
+	hi = dns323_parse_hex_nibble(b[0]);
+	lo = dns323_parse_hex_nibble(b[1]);
+
+	if (hi < 0 || lo < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	return (hi << 4) | lo;
+}
+
 static int __init dns323_read_mac_addr(void)
 {
 	u_int8_t addr[6];
-	void __iomem *mac_page;
+	int i;
+	char *mac_page;
 
 	/* MAC address is stored as a regular ol' string in /dev/mtdblock4
 	 * (0x007d0000-0x00800000) starting at offset 196480 (0x2ff80).
@@ -185,8 +217,23 @@ static int __init dns323_read_mac_addr(void)
 	if (!mac_page)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
-	if (!mac_pton((__force const char *) mac_page, addr))
-		goto error_fail;
+	/* Sanity check the string we're looking at */
+	for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+		if (*(mac_page + (i * 3) + 2) != ':') {
+			goto error_fail;
+		}
+	}
+
+	for (i = 0; i < 6; i++)	{
+		int byte;
+
+		byte = dns323_parse_hex_byte(mac_page + (i * 3));
+		if (byte < 0) {
+			goto error_fail;
+		}
+
+		addr[i] = byte;
+	}
 
 	iounmap(mac_page);
 	printk("DNS-323: Found ethernet MAC address: %pM\n", addr);
diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/tsx09-common.c b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/tsx09-common.c
index 89774985d380..905d4f2dd0b8 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/tsx09-common.c
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-orion5x/tsx09-common.c
@@ -53,12 +53,53 @@ struct mv643xx_eth_platform_data qnap_tsx09_eth_data = {
 	.phy_addr	= MV643XX_ETH_PHY_ADDR(8),
 };
 
+static int __init qnap_tsx09_parse_hex_nibble(char n)
+{
+	if (n >= '0' && n <= '9')
+		return n - '0';
+
+	if (n >= 'A' && n <= 'F')
+		return n - 'A' + 10;
+
+	if (n >= 'a' && n <= 'f')
+		return n - 'a' + 10;
+
+	return -1;
+}
+
+static int __init qnap_tsx09_parse_hex_byte(const char *b)
+{
+	int hi;
+	int lo;
+
+	hi = qnap_tsx09_parse_hex_nibble(b[0]);
+	lo = qnap_tsx09_parse_hex_nibble(b[1]);
+
+	if (hi < 0 || lo < 0)
+		return -1;
+
+	return (hi << 4) | lo;
+}
+
 static int __init qnap_tsx09_check_mac_addr(const char *addr_str)
 {
 	u_int8_t addr[6];
+	int i;
 
-	if (!mac_pton(addr_str, addr))
-		return -1;
+	for (i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
+		int byte;
+
+		/*
+		 * Enforce "xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx\n" format.
+		 */
+		if (addr_str[(i * 3) + 2] != ((i < 5) ? ':' : '\n'))
+			return -1;
+
+		byte = qnap_tsx09_parse_hex_byte(addr_str + (i * 3));
+		if (byte < 0)
+			return -1;
+		addr[i] = byte;
+	}
 
 	printk(KERN_INFO "tsx09: found ethernet mac address %pM\n", addr);
 
@@ -77,12 +118,12 @@ void __init qnap_tsx09_find_mac_addr(u32 mem_base, u32 size)
 	unsigned long addr;
 
 	for (addr = mem_base; addr < (mem_base + size); addr += 1024) {
-		void __iomem *nor_page;
+		char *nor_page;
 		int ret = 0;
 
 		nor_page = ioremap(addr, 1024);
 		if (nor_page != NULL) {
-			ret = qnap_tsx09_check_mac_addr((__force const char *)nor_page);
+			ret = qnap_tsx09_check_mac_addr(nor_page);
 			iounmap(nor_page);
 		}