diff --git a/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/reader.c b/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/reader.c
index a084d30b16..1c7e8eb6c7 100644
--- a/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/reader.c
+++ b/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/reader.c
@@ -1622,21 +1622,27 @@ add_one_wep_key (shvarFile *ifcfg,
 				p++;
 			}
 			key = g_strdup (value);
-		} else if (   strncmp (value, "s:", 2)
+		} else if (   !strncmp (value, "s:", 2)
 		           && (strlen (value) == 7 || strlen (value) == 15)) {
-			/* ASCII passphrase */
+			/* ASCII key */
 			char *p = value + 2;
 
 			while (*p) {
 				if (!isascii ((int) (*p))) {
 					g_set_error (error, ifcfg_plugin_error_quark (), 0,
-					             "Invalid ASCII WEP passphrase.");
+					             "Invalid ASCII WEP key.");
 					goto out;
 				}
 				p++;
 			}
 
-			key = utils_bin2hexstr (value, strlen (value), strlen (value) * 2);
+			/* Remove 's:' prefix.
+			 * Don't convert to hex string. wpa_supplicant takes 'wep_key0' option over D-Bus as byte array
+			 * and converts it to hex string itself. Even though we convert hex string keys into a bin string
+			 * before passing to wpa_supplicant, this prevents two unnecessary conversions. And mainly,
+			 * ASCII WEP key doesn't change to HEX WEP key in UI, which could confuse users.
+			 */
+			key = g_strdup (value + 2);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/writer.c b/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/writer.c
index de69e0039e..2d206c7354 100644
--- a/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/writer.c
+++ b/system-settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/writer.c
@@ -605,6 +605,8 @@ write_wireless_security_setting (NMConnection *connection,
 
 			key = nm_setting_wireless_security_get_wep_key (s_wsec, i);
 			if (key) {
+				char *ascii_key = NULL;
+
 				/* Passphrase needs a different ifcfg key since with WEP, there
 				 * are some passphrases that are indistinguishable from WEP hex
 				 * keys.
@@ -612,11 +614,19 @@ write_wireless_security_setting (NMConnection *connection,
 				key_type = nm_setting_wireless_security_get_wep_key_type (s_wsec);
 				if (key_type == NM_WEP_KEY_TYPE_PASSPHRASE)
 					tmp = g_strdup_printf ("KEY_PASSPHRASE%d", i + 1);
-				else
+				else {
 					tmp = g_strdup_printf ("KEY%d", i + 1);
 
+					/* Add 's:' prefix for ASCII keys */
+					if (strlen (key) == 5 || strlen (key) == 13) {
+						ascii_key = g_strdup_printf ("s:%s", key);
+						key = ascii_key;
+					}
+				}
+
 				set_secret (ifcfg, tmp, key, FALSE);
 				g_free (tmp);
+				g_free (ascii_key);
 			}
 		}
 	}