diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index f75367eb..26bd1a98 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -718,6 +718,7 @@ if test "x$DEFAULT_TERM" = x; then
 		 ])],
 		 [DEFAULT_TERM=screen-256color],
 		 ,
+		 [DEFAULT_TERM=screen]
 	)
 	AC_RUN_IFELSE([AC_LANG_SOURCE(
 		[
@@ -737,6 +738,7 @@ if test "x$DEFAULT_TERM" = x; then
 		 ])],
 		 [DEFAULT_TERM=tmux],
 		 ,
+		 [DEFAULT_TERM=screen]
 	)
 	AC_RUN_IFELSE([AC_LANG_SOURCE(
 		[
@@ -756,6 +758,7 @@ if test "x$DEFAULT_TERM" = x; then
 		 ])],
 		 [DEFAULT_TERM=tmux-256color],
 		 ,
+		 [DEFAULT_TERM=screen]
 	)
 	AC_MSG_RESULT($DEFAULT_TERM)
 fi