diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2826d5bc..fc8268e8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ Table of Contents
 
 Installation
 ======
-Requirements: geth (1.6.5 or higher recommended, 1.6.0 or lower for whisper support), node (6.9.1 or higher is recommended) and npm
+Requirements: geth (1.6.5 or higher recommended, 1.6.0 or lower for whisper v1 support; whisper v5 support coming soon), node (6.9.1 or higher is recommended) and npm
 Optional: testrpc (3.0 or higher) if using the simulator or the test functionality.
 Further: depending on the dapp stack you choose: [IPFS](https://ipfs.io/)
 
diff --git a/boilerplate/config/contracts.json b/boilerplate/config/contracts.json
index f365b213..41db174d 100644
--- a/boilerplate/config/contracts.json
+++ b/boilerplate/config/contracts.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "default": {
     "versions": {
       "web3.js": "1.0.0-beta",
-      "solc": "0.4.18"
+      "solc": "0.4.17"
     },
     "deployment": {
       "host": "localhost",
diff --git a/demo/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol b/demo/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
index 9872d778..955ad899 100644
--- a/demo/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
+++ b/demo/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.7;
 contract SimpleStorage {
   uint public storedData;
 
diff --git a/demo/config/contracts.json b/demo/config/contracts.json
index 41fa4573..e6dd6ac9 100644
--- a/demo/config/contracts.json
+++ b/demo/config/contracts.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "default": {
     "versions": {
       "web3.js": "1.0.0-beta",
-      "solc": "0.4.18"
+      "solc": "0.4.17"
     },
     "deployment": {
       "host": "localhost",
diff --git a/lib/core/config.js b/lib/core/config.js
index 9e2a7fd0..9ea787ee 100644
--- a/lib/core/config.js
+++ b/lib/core/config.js
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Config.prototype.loadContractsConfigFile = function() {
   var configObject = {
     "versions": {
       "web3.js": "0.19.1",
-      "solc": "0.4.18"
+      "solc": "0.4.17"
     },
     "deployment": {
       "host": "localhost",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 17d64be8..bd32be53 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
     "promptly": "^2.1.0",
     "serve-static": "^1.11.1",
     "shelljs": "^0.5.0",
-    "solc": "0.4.18",
+    "solc": "0.4.17",
     "tar": "^3.1.5",
     "toposort": "^1.0.0",
     "underscore": "^1.8.3",
diff --git a/test_app/app/contracts/another_storage.sol b/test_app/app/contracts/another_storage.sol
index d8e0a1a8..92233769 100644
--- a/test_app/app/contracts/another_storage.sol
+++ b/test_app/app/contracts/another_storage.sol
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.17;
 contract AnotherStorage {
   address public simpleStorageAddress;
   address simpleStorageAddress2;
diff --git a/test_app/app/contracts/ownable.sol b/test_app/app/contracts/ownable.sol
index 097df995..af8aa0cf 100644
--- a/test_app/app/contracts/ownable.sol
+++ b/test_app/app/contracts/ownable.sol
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.17;
 
 /**
  * @title Ownable
diff --git a/test_app/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol b/test_app/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
index 2682a7e4..58c90a35 100644
--- a/test_app/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
+++ b/test_app/app/contracts/simple_storage.sol
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.17;
 
 import "ownable.sol";
 
diff --git a/test_app/app/contracts/test.sol b/test_app/app/contracts/test.sol
index f1523673..3d347f3f 100644
--- a/test_app/app/contracts/test.sol
+++ b/test_app/app/contracts/test.sol
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.17;
 
 library ZAMyLib {
 
diff --git a/test_app/app/contracts/token.sol b/test_app/app/contracts/token.sol
index fc92206a..32b1dafd 100644
--- a/test_app/app/contracts/token.sol
+++ b/test_app/app/contracts/token.sol
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // https://github.com/nexusdev/erc20/blob/master/contracts/base.sol
 
-pragma solidity ^0.4.18;
+pragma solidity ^0.4.17;
 contract Token {
 
   event Transfer(address indexed from, address indexed to, uint value);
diff --git a/test_app/config/contracts.json b/test_app/config/contracts.json
index d5e24c97..d2a7e2b3 100644
--- a/test_app/config/contracts.json
+++ b/test_app/config/contracts.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "default": {
     "versions": {
       "web3.js": "1.0.0-beta",
-      "solc": "0.4.18"
+      "solc": "0.4.17"
     },
     "deployment": {
       "host": "localhost",