diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 8a8dd0c92..07af565e0 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ ver 0.22 (not yet released)
   - io_uring: new plugin for local files on Linux (using liburing)
 * archive
   - iso9660: support seeking
+* database
+  - upnp: drop support for libupnp versions older than 1.8
 * playlist
   - cue: integrate contents in database
 * decoder
diff --git a/src/lib/upnp/ClientInit.cxx b/src/lib/upnp/ClientInit.cxx
index ae001e6e8..8b990c59c 100644
--- a/src/lib/upnp/ClientInit.cxx
+++ b/src/lib/upnp/ClientInit.cxx
@@ -33,10 +33,7 @@ static UpnpClient_Handle upnp_client_handle;
 
 static int
 UpnpClientCallback(Upnp_EventType et,
-#if UPNP_VERSION >= 10800
-		   const
-#endif
-		   void *evp,
+		   const void *evp,
 		   void *cookie) noexcept
 {
 	if (cookie == nullptr)
diff --git a/src/lib/upnp/Compat.hxx b/src/lib/upnp/Compat.hxx
index e72d858d1..efe8c8e9c 100644
--- a/src/lib/upnp/Compat.hxx
+++ b/src/lib/upnp/Compat.hxx
@@ -22,51 +22,4 @@
 
 #include <upnp.h>
 
-#if UPNP_VERSION < 10800
-/* emulate the libupnp 1.8 API with older versions */
-
-using UpnpDiscovery = Upnp_Discovery;
-
-#endif
-
-#if UPNP_VERSION < 10624
-#include "util/Compiler.h"
-
-gcc_pure
-static inline int
-UpnpDiscovery_get_Expires(const UpnpDiscovery *disco) noexcept
-{
-  return disco->Expires;
-}
-
-gcc_pure
-static inline const char *
-UpnpDiscovery_get_DeviceID_cstr(const UpnpDiscovery *disco) noexcept
-{
-  return disco->DeviceId;
-}
-
-gcc_pure
-static inline const char *
-UpnpDiscovery_get_DeviceType_cstr(const UpnpDiscovery *disco) noexcept
-{
-  return disco->DeviceType;
-}
-
-gcc_pure
-static inline const char *
-UpnpDiscovery_get_ServiceType_cstr(const UpnpDiscovery *disco) noexcept
-{
-  return disco->ServiceType;
-}
-
-gcc_pure
-static inline const char *
-UpnpDiscovery_get_Location_cstr(const UpnpDiscovery *disco) noexcept
-{
-  return disco->Location;
-}
-
-#endif
-
 #endif
diff --git a/src/lib/upnp/Discovery.hxx b/src/lib/upnp/Discovery.hxx
index f284916ee..c0f10b7ec 100644
--- a/src/lib/upnp/Discovery.hxx
+++ b/src/lib/upnp/Discovery.hxx
@@ -38,10 +38,6 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <chrono>
 
-#if UPNP_VERSION < 10800
-#define UpnpDiscovery Upnp_Discovery
-#endif
-
 class ContentDirectoryService;
 
 class UPnPDiscoveryListener {
diff --git a/src/lib/upnp/meson.build b/src/lib/upnp/meson.build
index 9e16f7319..f7570eb1c 100644
--- a/src/lib/upnp/meson.build
+++ b/src/lib/upnp/meson.build
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-upnp_dep = dependency('libupnp', required: get_option('upnp'))
+upnp_dep = dependency('libupnp', version: '>= 1.8', required: get_option('upnp'))
 conf.set('ENABLE_UPNP', upnp_dep.found())
 if not upnp_dep.found()
   subdir_done()