diff --git a/src/core/settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/nms-ifcfg-rh-reader.c b/src/core/settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/nms-ifcfg-rh-reader.c
index 9100beb8ac..07334dbb77 100644
--- a/src/core/settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/nms-ifcfg-rh-reader.c
+++ b/src/core/settings/plugins/ifcfg-rh/nms-ifcfg-rh-reader.c
@@ -5118,15 +5118,15 @@ make_wired_setting(shvarFile *ifcfg, const char *file, NMSetting8021x **s_8021x,
         for (i = 0; options && options[i]; i++) {
             const char *line = options[i];
             const char *equals;
-            gboolean    valid = FALSE;
 
             equals = strchr(line, '=');
-            if (equals) {
-                ((char *) equals)[0] = '\0';
-                valid                = nm_setting_wired_add_s390_option(s_wired, line, equals + 1);
-            }
-            if (!valid)
-                PARSE_WARNING("invalid s390 OPTION '%s'", line);
+            if (!equals)
+                continue;
+
+            /* Here we don't verify the key/value further. If the file contains invalid keys,
+             * we will later reject the connection as invalid. */
+            ((char *) equals)[0] = '\0';
+            nm_setting_wired_add_s390_option(s_wired, line, equals + 1);
         }
         found = TRUE;
     }
diff --git a/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-keyfile.c b/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-keyfile.c
index 1de18180a3..bc5398e7ba 100644
--- a/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-keyfile.c
+++ b/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-keyfile.c
@@ -2286,6 +2286,8 @@ wired_s390_options_parser_full(KeyfileReaderInfo *       info,
         if (!value)
             continue;
 
+        /* Here we don't verify the key/value further. If the file contains invalid keys,
+         * we will later reject the connection as invalid. */
         nm_setting_wired_add_s390_option(s_wired,
                                          nm_keyfile_key_decode(keys[i], &key_to_free),
                                          value);
diff --git a/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-setting-wired.c b/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-setting-wired.c
index bcbf064020..ca310fee7c 100644
--- a/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-setting-wired.c
+++ b/src/libnm-core-impl/nm-setting-wired.c
@@ -524,7 +524,7 @@ nm_setting_wired_get_s390_option_by_key(NMSettingWired *setting, const char *key
     gssize                 idx;
 
     g_return_val_if_fail(NM_IS_SETTING_WIRED(setting), NULL);
-    g_return_val_if_fail(key && key[0], NULL);
+    g_return_val_if_fail(key, NULL);
 
     priv = NM_SETTING_WIRED_GET_PRIVATE(setting);
 
@@ -540,13 +540,13 @@ nm_setting_wired_get_s390_option_by_key(NMSettingWired *setting, const char *key
  * @key: key name for the option
  * @value: value for the option
  *
- * Add an option to the table.  The option is compared to an internal list
- * of allowed options.  Key names may contain only alphanumeric characters
- * (ie [a-zA-Z0-9]).  Adding a new key replaces any existing key/value pair that
- * may already exist.
+ * Add an option to the table. If the key already exists, the value gets
+ * replaced.
  *
- * Returns: %TRUE if the option was valid and was added to the internal option
- * list, %FALSE if it was not.
+ * Before 1.32, the function would assert that the key is valid. Since then,
+ * an invalid key gets silently added but renders the profile as invalid.
+ *
+ * Returns: since 1.32 this always returns %TRUE.
  **/
 gboolean
 nm_setting_wired_add_s390_option(NMSettingWired *setting, const char *key, const char *value)
@@ -555,13 +555,9 @@ nm_setting_wired_add_s390_option(NMSettingWired *setting, const char *key, const
     gssize                 idx;
 
     g_return_val_if_fail(NM_IS_SETTING_WIRED(setting), FALSE);
+    g_return_val_if_fail(key, FALSE);
     g_return_val_if_fail(value, FALSE);
 
-    if (!valid_s390_opts_check(key)) {
-        g_return_val_if_fail(key, FALSE);
-        return FALSE;
-    }
-
     priv = NM_SETTING_WIRED_GET_PRIVATE(setting);
 
     idx = nm_utils_named_value_list_find(priv->s390_options.arr, priv->s390_options.len, key, TRUE);