diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Kconfig b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Kconfig
index df96aed6975a..36941afba43f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/Kconfig
@@ -36,15 +36,20 @@ config DRM_I915
 
 	  If "M" is selected, the module will be called i915.
 
-config DRM_I915_PRELIMINARY_HW_SUPPORT
-	bool "Enable preliminary support for prerelease Intel hardware by default"
+config DRM_I915_ALPHA_SUPPORT
+	bool "Enable alpha quality support for new Intel hardware by default"
 	depends on DRM_I915
 	default n
 	help
-	  Choose this option if you have prerelease Intel hardware and want the
-	  i915 driver to support it by default.  You can enable such support at
-	  runtime with the module option i915.preliminary_hw_support=1; this
-	  option changes the default for that module option.
+	  Choose this option if you have new Intel hardware and want to enable
+	  the alpha quality i915 driver support for the hardware in this kernel
+	  version. You can also enable the support at runtime using the module
+	  parameter i915.alpha_support=1; this option changes the default for
+	  that module parameter.
+
+	  It is recommended to upgrade to a kernel version with proper support
+	  as soon as it is available. Generally fixes for platforms with alpha
+	  support are not backported to older kernels.
 
 	  If in doubt, say "N".
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
index 42a499681966..abddafba6220 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
@@ -668,7 +668,7 @@ struct intel_csr {
 	func(is_skylake); \
 	func(is_broxton); \
 	func(is_kabylake); \
-	func(is_preliminary); \
+	func(is_alpha_support); \
 	/* Keep has_* in alphabetical order */ \
 	func(has_csr); \
 	func(has_ddi); \
@@ -2782,7 +2782,7 @@ struct drm_i915_cmd_table {
 #define IS_SKL_GT4(dev_priv)	(IS_SKYLAKE(dev_priv) && \
 				 (INTEL_DEVID(dev_priv) & 0x00F0) == 0x0030)
 
-#define IS_PRELIMINARY_HW(intel_info) ((intel_info)->is_preliminary)
+#define IS_ALPHA_SUPPORT(intel_info) ((intel_info)->is_alpha_support)
 
 #define SKL_REVID_A0		0x0
 #define SKL_REVID_B0		0x1
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.c
index 629e4334719c..d46ffe7086bc 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ struct i915_params i915 __read_mostly = {
 	.enable_hangcheck = true,
 	.enable_ppgtt = -1,
 	.enable_psr = -1,
-	.preliminary_hw_support = IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DRM_I915_PRELIMINARY_HW_SUPPORT),
+	.alpha_support = IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DRM_I915_ALPHA_SUPPORT),
 	.disable_power_well = -1,
 	.enable_ips = 1,
 	.fastboot = 0,
@@ -145,9 +145,10 @@ MODULE_PARM_DESC(enable_psr, "Enable PSR "
 		 "(0=disabled, 1=enabled - link mode chosen per-platform, 2=force link-standby mode, 3=force link-off mode) "
 		 "Default: -1 (use per-chip default)");
 
-module_param_named_unsafe(preliminary_hw_support, i915.preliminary_hw_support, int, 0400);
-MODULE_PARM_DESC(preliminary_hw_support,
-	"Enable preliminary hardware support.");
+module_param_named_unsafe(alpha_support, i915.alpha_support, int, 0400);
+MODULE_PARM_DESC(alpha_support,
+	"Enable alpha quality driver support for latest hardware. "
+	"See also CONFIG_DRM_I915_ALPHA_SUPPORT.");
 
 module_param_named_unsafe(disable_power_well, i915.disable_power_well, int, 0400);
 MODULE_PARM_DESC(disable_power_well,
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.h
index 94efc899c1ef..817ad959941e 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_params.h
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ struct i915_params {
 	int enable_ppgtt;
 	int enable_execlists;
 	int enable_psr;
-	unsigned int preliminary_hw_support;
+	unsigned int alpha_support;
 	int disable_power_well;
 	int enable_ips;
 	int invert_brightness;
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_pci.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_pci.c
index 31e6edd08dd0..cdf436fe4e24 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_pci.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_pci.c
@@ -436,9 +436,10 @@ static int i915_pci_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev, const struct pci_device_id *ent)
 	struct intel_device_info *intel_info =
 		(struct intel_device_info *) ent->driver_data;
 
-	if (IS_PRELIMINARY_HW(intel_info) && !i915.preliminary_hw_support) {
-		DRM_INFO("This hardware requires preliminary hardware support.\n"
-			 "See CONFIG_DRM_I915_PRELIMINARY_HW_SUPPORT, and/or modparam preliminary_hw_support\n");
+	if (IS_ALPHA_SUPPORT(intel_info) && !i915.alpha_support) {
+		DRM_INFO("The driver support for your hardware in this kernel version is alpha quality\n"
+			 "See CONFIG_DRM_I915_ALPHA_SUPPORT or i915.alpha_support module parameter\n"
+			 "to enable support in this kernel version, or check for kernel updates.\n");
 		return -ENODEV;
 	}
 
