diff --git a/conda/artiq-dev/meta.yaml b/conda/artiq-dev/meta.yaml
index 4ed09f11b..982d7aa27 100644
--- a/conda/artiq-dev/meta.yaml
+++ b/conda/artiq-dev/meta.yaml
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ requirements:
     - sphinx-argparse
     - sphinxcontrib-wavedrom
     - sphinx_rtd_theme
-    - h5py
+    - h5py 2.8
     - python-dateutil
     - pyqt >=5.5
     - quamash
diff --git a/conda/artiq/meta.yaml b/conda/artiq/meta.yaml
index 69cb6fd9c..cf72162d3 100644
--- a/conda/artiq/meta.yaml
+++ b/conda/artiq/meta.yaml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ requirements:
     - numpy
     - prettytable
     - asyncserial
-    - h5py
+    - h5py 2.8
     - python-dateutil
     - pyqt >=5.5
     - quamash