diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index d50801bd207f4..fcee85ff02754 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -159,8 +159,8 @@ task verifyVersions {
  * the enabled state of every bwc task. It should be set back to true
  * after the backport of the backcompat code is complete.
  */
-final boolean bwc_tests_enabled = true
-final String bwc_tests_disabled_issue = "" /* place a PR link here when committing bwc changes */
+final boolean bwc_tests_enabled = false
+final String bwc_tests_disabled_issue = "https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/pull/38443" /* place a PR link here when committing bwc changes */
 if (bwc_tests_enabled == false) {
   if (bwc_tests_disabled_issue.isEmpty()) {
     throw new GradleException("bwc_tests_disabled_issue must be set when bwc_tests_enabled == false")