diff --git a/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.cxx b/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.cxx
index a529aefd..7c3c36d7 100755
--- a/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.cxx
+++ b/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.cxx
@@ -134,11 +134,13 @@ L3GD20::L3GD20(int bus, int addr)
   // check ChipID
 
   uint8_t cid = getChipID();
-  if (cid != L3GD20_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID)
+  if (!(cid == L3GD20_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID || cid == L3GD20H_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID))
     {
       throw std::runtime_error(std::string(__FUNCTION__) +
-                               ": invalid Chip ID: expected "
+                               ": Invalid Chip ID: expected "
                                + std::to_string(L3GD20_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID)
+                               + " or "
+                               + std::to_string(L3GD20H_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID)
                                + ", got "
                                + std::to_string(int(cid)));
       return;
diff --git a/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.hpp b/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.hpp
index de9c86f9..f2271001 100644
--- a/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.hpp
+++ b/src/l3gd20/l3gd20.hpp
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@
 // if SDO tied to GND
 #define L3GD20_DEFAULT_I2C_ADDR                     0x6a
 #define L3GD20_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID                      0xd4
+// the 'H' variant uses a different chip id
+#define L3GD20H_DEFAULT_CHIP_ID                     0xd7
 
 namespace upm
 {