diff --git a/lib/mix/tasks/phx.gen.release.ex b/lib/mix/tasks/phx.gen.release.ex
index dc97c567e2..d4e43c259d 100644
--- a/lib/mix/tasks/phx.gen.release.ex
+++ b/lib/mix/tasks/phx.gen.release.ex
@@ -236,8 +236,13 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Phx.Gen.Release do
     url = String.to_charlist(url)
     Logger.debug("Fetching latest image information from #{url}")
 
-    {:ok, _} = Application.ensure_all_started(:inets)
-    {:ok, _} = Application.ensure_all_started(:ssl)
+    if function_exported?(Mix, :ensure_application!, 1) do
+      Mix.ensure_application!(:inets)
+      Mix.ensure_application!(:ssl)
+    else
+      {:ok, _} = Application.ensure_all_started(:inets)
+      {:ok, _} = Application.ensure_all_started(:ssl)
+    end
 
     if proxy = System.get_env("HTTP_PROXY") || System.get_env("http_proxy") do
       Logger.debug("Using HTTP_PROXY: #{proxy}")