diff --git a/manageiq-ui-classic.gemspec b/manageiq-ui-classic.gemspec
index 73195cd97f3..53f580e892f 100644
--- a/manageiq-ui-classic.gemspec
+++ b/manageiq-ui-classic.gemspec
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_development_dependency "guard-rspec", '~> 4.7.3'
   s.add_development_dependency "manageiq-style"
   s.add_development_dependency "rails-controller-testing", '~> 1.0.2'
-  s.add_development_dependency "simplecov", ">= 0.21.2"
+  s.add_development_dependency "simplecov", "~> 0.16.1"
 
   # core because jasmine gem depends on major version only, meaning breakages when not the latest
   s.add_development_dependency "jasmine", "~> 3.4.0"