diff --git a/apps/files_sharing/ajax/testremote.php b/apps/files_sharing/ajax/testremote.php
index 8958179469..08149bf7ec 100644
--- a/apps/files_sharing/ajax/testremote.php
+++ b/apps/files_sharing/ajax/testremote.php
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ function testUrl($url) {
 	try {
 		$result = file_get_contents($url);
 		$data = json_decode($result);
-		return is_object($data) and !empty($data->version);
+		// public link mount is only supported in ownCloud 7+
+		return is_object($data) and !empty($data->version) and version_compare($data->version, '7.0.0', '>=');
 	} catch (Exception $e) {
 		return false;
 	}
diff --git a/apps/files_sharing/js/public.js b/apps/files_sharing/js/public.js
index 861da2065e..02ecf56fa0 100644
--- a/apps/files_sharing/js/public.js
+++ b/apps/files_sharing/js/public.js
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ OCA.Sharing.PublicApp = {
 			// this check needs to happen on the server due to the Content Security Policy directive
 			$.get(OC.generateUrl('apps/files_sharing/testremote'), {remote: remote}).then(function (protocol) {
 				if (protocol !== 'http' && protocol !== 'https') {
-					OC.dialogs.alert(t('files_sharing', 'No ownCloud installation found at {remote}', {remote: remote}),
+					OC.dialogs.alert(t('files_sharing', 'No ownCloud installation (7 or higher) found at {remote}', {remote: remote}),
 						t('files_sharing', 'Invalid ownCloud url'));
 				} else {
 					OC.redirect(protocol + '://' + url);