diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_fsops.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_fsops.c
index 02fb943cbf22..d49c67acabf8 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_fsops.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_fsops.c
@@ -74,11 +74,9 @@ xfs_fs_geometry(
 	}
 	if (new_version >= 3) {
 		geo->version = XFS_FSOP_GEOM_VERSION;
-		geo->flags =
+		geo->flags = XFS_FSOP_GEOM_FLAGS_NLINK |
 			(xfs_sb_version_hasattr(&mp->m_sb) ?
 				XFS_FSOP_GEOM_FLAGS_ATTR : 0) |
-			(xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb) ?
-				XFS_FSOP_GEOM_FLAGS_NLINK : 0) |
 			(xfs_sb_version_hasquota(&mp->m_sb) ?
 				XFS_FSOP_GEOM_FLAGS_QUOTA : 0) |
 			(xfs_sb_version_hasalign(&mp->m_sb) ?
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_ialloc.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_ialloc.c
index 8f711db61a0c..449fa7b08b56 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_ialloc.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_ialloc.c
@@ -220,10 +220,8 @@ xfs_ialloc_inode_init(
 		if (tp)
 			xfs_icreate_log(tp, agno, agbno, mp->m_ialloc_inos,
 					mp->m_sb.sb_inodesize, length, gen);
-	} else if (xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb))
+	} else
 		version = 2;
-	else
-		version = 1;
 
 	for (j = 0; j < nbufs; j++) {
 		/*
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.c
index 768087bedbac..9731977be528 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.c
@@ -682,6 +682,14 @@ xfs_ialloc(
 		return error;
 	ASSERT(ip != NULL);
 
+	/*
+	 * We always convert v1 inodes to v2 now - we only support filesystems
+	 * with >= v2 inode capability, so there is no reason for ever leaving
+	 * an inode in v1 format.
+	 */
+	if (ip->i_d.di_version == 1)
+		ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
+
 	ip->i_d.di_mode = mode;
 	ip->i_d.di_onlink = 0;
 	ip->i_d.di_nlink = nlink;
@@ -691,27 +699,6 @@ xfs_ialloc(
 	xfs_set_projid(ip, prid);
 	memset(&(ip->i_d.di_pad[0]), 0, sizeof(ip->i_d.di_pad));
 
-	/*
-	 * If the superblock version is up to where we support new format
-	 * inodes and this is currently an old format inode, then change
-	 * the inode version number now.  This way we only do the conversion
-	 * here rather than here and in the flush/logging code.
-	 */
-	if (xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb) &&
-	    ip->i_d.di_version == 1) {
-		ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
-		/*
-		 * We've already zeroed the old link count, the projid field,
-		 * and the pad field.
-		 */
-	}
-
-	/*
-	 * Project ids won't be stored on disk if we are using a version 1 inode.
-	 */
-	if ((prid != 0) && (ip->i_d.di_version == 1))
-		xfs_bump_ino_vers2(tp, ip);
-
 	if (pip && XFS_INHERIT_GID(pip)) {
 		ip->i_d.di_gid = pip->i_d.di_gid;
 		if ((pip->i_d.di_mode & S_ISGID) && S_ISDIR(mode)) {
@@ -1072,40 +1059,6 @@ xfs_droplink(
 	return error;
 }
 
-/*
- * This gets called when the inode's version needs to be changed from 1 to 2.
- * Currently this happens when the nlink field overflows the old 16-bit value
- * or when chproj is called to change the project for the first time.
- * As a side effect the superblock version will also get rev'd
- * to contain the NLINK bit.
- */
-void
-xfs_bump_ino_vers2(
-	xfs_trans_t	*tp,
-	xfs_inode_t	*ip)
-{
-	xfs_mount_t	*mp;
-
-	ASSERT(xfs_isilocked(ip, XFS_ILOCK_EXCL));
-	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version == 1);
-
-	ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
-	ip->i_d.di_onlink = 0;
-	memset(&(ip->i_d.di_pad[0]), 0, sizeof(ip->i_d.di_pad));
-	mp = tp->t_mountp;
-	if (!xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb)) {
-		spin_lock(&mp->m_sb_lock);
-		if (!xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb)) {
-			xfs_sb_version_addnlink(&mp->m_sb);
-			spin_unlock(&mp->m_sb_lock);
-			xfs_mod_sb(tp, XFS_SB_VERSIONNUM);
-		} else {
-			spin_unlock(&mp->m_sb_lock);
-		}
-	}
-	/* Caller must log the inode */
-}
-
 /*
  * Increment the link count on an inode & log the change.
  */
@@ -1116,22 +1069,10 @@ xfs_bumplink(
 {
 	xfs_trans_ichgtime(tp, ip, XFS_ICHGTIME_CHG);
 
+	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version > 1);
 	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_nlink > 0 || (VFS_I(ip)->i_state & I_LINKABLE));
 	ip->i_d.di_nlink++;
 	inc_nlink(VFS_I(ip));
-	if ((ip->i_d.di_version == 1) &&
-	    (ip->i_d.di_nlink > XFS_MAXLINK_1)) {
-		/*
-		 * The inode has increased its number of links beyond
-		 * what can fit in an old format inode.  It now needs
-		 * to be converted to a version 2 inode with a 32 bit
-		 * link count.  If this is the first inode in the file
-		 * system to do this, then we need to bump the superblock
-		 * version number as well.
-		 */
-		xfs_bump_ino_vers2(tp, ip);
-	}
-
 	xfs_trans_log_inode(tp, ip, XFS_ILOG_CORE);
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -3258,6 +3199,7 @@ xfs_iflush_int(
 	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_format != XFS_DINODE_FMT_BTREE ||
 	       ip->i_d.di_nextents > XFS_IFORK_MAXEXT(ip, XFS_DATA_FORK));
 	ASSERT(iip != NULL && iip->ili_fields != 0);
+	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version > 1);
 
 	/* set *dip = inode's place in the buffer */
 	dip = (xfs_dinode_t *)xfs_buf_offset(bp, ip->i_imap.im_boffset);
@@ -3318,7 +3260,7 @@ xfs_iflush_int(
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * Inode item log recovery for v1/v2 inodes are dependent on the
+	 * Inode item log recovery for v2 inodes are dependent on the
 	 * di_flushiter count for correct sequencing. We bump the flush
 	 * iteration count so we can detect flushes which postdate a log record
 	 * during recovery. This is redundant as we now log every change and
@@ -3341,37 +3283,6 @@ xfs_iflush_int(
 	if (ip->i_d.di_flushiter == DI_MAX_FLUSH)
 		ip->i_d.di_flushiter = 0;
 
-	/*
-	 * If this is really an old format inode and the superblock version
-	 * has not been updated to support only new format inodes, then
-	 * convert back to the old inode format.  If the superblock version
-	 * has been updated, then make the conversion permanent.
-	 */
-	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version == 1 || xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb));
-	if (ip->i_d.di_version == 1) {
-		if (!xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&mp->m_sb)) {
-			/*
-			 * Convert it back.
-			 */
-			ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_nlink <= XFS_MAXLINK_1);
-			dip->di_onlink = cpu_to_be16(ip->i_d.di_nlink);
-		} else {
-			/*
-			 * The superblock version has already been bumped,
-			 * so just make the conversion to the new inode
-			 * format permanent.
-			 */
-			ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
-			dip->di_version = 2;
-			ip->i_d.di_onlink = 0;
-			dip->di_onlink = 0;
-			memset(&(ip->i_d.di_pad[0]), 0, sizeof(ip->i_d.di_pad));
-			memset(&(dip->di_pad[0]), 0,
-			      sizeof(dip->di_pad));
-			ASSERT(xfs_get_projid(ip) == 0);
-		}
-	}
-
 	xfs_iflush_fork(ip, dip, iip, XFS_DATA_FORK, bp);
 	if (XFS_IFORK_Q(ip))
 		xfs_iflush_fork(ip, dip, iip, XFS_ATTR_FORK, bp);
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.h b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.h
index f2fcde52b66d..d331a0e040eb 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.h
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode.h
@@ -379,7 +379,6 @@ int		xfs_dir_ialloc(struct xfs_trans **, struct xfs_inode *, umode_t,
 			       struct xfs_inode **, int *);
 int		xfs_droplink(struct xfs_trans *, struct xfs_inode *);
 int		xfs_bumplink(struct xfs_trans *, struct xfs_inode *);
-void		xfs_bump_ino_vers2(struct xfs_trans *, struct xfs_inode *);
 
 /* from xfs_file.c */
 int		xfs_zero_eof(struct xfs_inode *, xfs_off_t, xfs_fsize_t);
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_buf.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_buf.c
index 24e993996bdc..cb35ae41d4a1 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_buf.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_buf.c
@@ -437,17 +437,16 @@ xfs_iread(
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * The inode format changed when we moved the link count and
-	 * made it 32 bits long.  If this is an old format inode,
-	 * convert it in memory to look like a new one.  If it gets
-	 * flushed to disk we will convert back before flushing or
-	 * logging it.  We zero out the new projid field and the old link
-	 * count field.  We'll handle clearing the pad field (the remains
-	 * of the old uuid field) when we actually convert the inode to
-	 * the new format. We don't change the version number so that we
-	 * can distinguish this from a real new format inode.
+	 * Automatically convert version 1 inode formats in memory to version 2
+	 * inode format. If the inode is modified, it will get logged and
+	 * rewritten as a version 2 inode. We can do this because we set the
+	 * superblock feature bit for v2 inodes unconditionally during mount
+	 * and it means the reast of the code can assume the inode version is 2
+	 * or higher.
 	 */
 	if (ip->i_d.di_version == 1) {
+		ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
+		memset(&(ip->i_d.di_pad[0]), 0, sizeof(ip->i_d.di_pad));
 		ip->i_d.di_nlink = ip->i_d.di_onlink;
 		ip->i_d.di_onlink = 0;
 		xfs_set_projid(ip, 0);
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_item.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_item.c
index 686889b4a1e5..a640137b3573 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_item.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_inode_item.c
@@ -145,34 +145,6 @@ xfs_inode_item_size(
 		xfs_inode_item_attr_fork_size(iip, nvecs, nbytes);
 }
 
-/*
- * If this is a v1 format inode, then we need to log it as such.  This means
- * that we have to copy the link count from the new field to the old.  We
- * don't have to worry about the new fields, because nothing trusts them as
- * long as the old inode version number is there.
- */
-STATIC void
-xfs_inode_item_format_v1_inode(
-	struct xfs_inode	*ip)
-{
-	if (!xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(&ip->i_mount->m_sb)) {
-		/*
-		 * Convert it back.
-		 */
-		ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_nlink <= XFS_MAXLINK_1);
-		ip->i_d.di_onlink = ip->i_d.di_nlink;
-	} else {
-		/*
-		 * The superblock version has already been bumped,
-		 * so just make the conversion to the new inode
-		 * format permanent.
-		 */
-		ip->i_d.di_version = 2;
-		ip->i_d.di_onlink = 0;
-		memset(&(ip->i_d.di_pad[0]), 0, sizeof(ip->i_d.di_pad));
-	}
-}
-
 STATIC void
 xfs_inode_item_format_data_fork(
 	struct xfs_inode_log_item *iip,
@@ -370,6 +342,8 @@ xfs_inode_item_format(
 	struct xfs_inode_log_format *ilf;
 	struct xfs_log_iovec	*vecp = NULL;
 
+	ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version > 1);
+
 	ilf = xlog_prepare_iovec(lv, &vecp, XLOG_REG_TYPE_IFORMAT);
 	ilf->ilf_type = XFS_LI_INODE;
 	ilf->ilf_ino = ip->i_ino;
@@ -380,8 +354,6 @@ xfs_inode_item_format(
 	ilf->ilf_size = 2; /* format + core */
 	xlog_finish_iovec(lv, vecp, sizeof(struct xfs_inode_log_format));
 
-	if (ip->i_d.di_version == 1)
-		xfs_inode_item_format_v1_inode(ip);
 	xlog_copy_iovec(lv, &vecp, XLOG_REG_TYPE_ICORE,
 			&ip->i_d,
 			xfs_icdinode_size(ip->i_d.di_version));
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_ioctl.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_ioctl.c
index 0b18776b075e..f920d4200207 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_ioctl.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_ioctl.c
@@ -1227,15 +1227,8 @@ xfs_ioctl_setattr(
 				olddquot = xfs_qm_vop_chown(tp, ip,
 							&ip->i_pdquot, pdqp);
 			}
+			ASSERT(ip->i_d.di_version > 1);
 			xfs_set_projid(ip, fa->fsx_projid);
-
-			/*
-			 * We may have to rev the inode as well as
-			 * the superblock version number since projids didn't
-			 * exist before DINODE_VERSION_2 and SB_VERSION_NLINK.
-			 */
-			if (ip->i_d.di_version == 1)
-				xfs_bump_ino_vers2(tp, ip);
 		}
 
 	}
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_mount.c b/fs/xfs/xfs_mount.c
index 944f3d9456a8..3f097825eff3 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_mount.c
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_mount.c
@@ -697,6 +697,12 @@ xfs_mountfs(
 			mp->m_update_flags |= XFS_SB_VERSIONNUM;
 	}
 
+	/* always use v2 inodes by default now */
+	if (!(mp->m_sb.sb_versionnum & XFS_SB_VERSION_NLINKBIT)) {
+		mp->m_sb.sb_versionnum |= XFS_SB_VERSION_NLINKBIT;
+		mp->m_update_flags |= XFS_SB_VERSIONNUM;
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * Check if sb_agblocks is aligned at stripe boundary
 	 * If sb_agblocks is NOT aligned turn off m_dalign since
diff --git a/fs/xfs/xfs_sb.h b/fs/xfs/xfs_sb.h
index a6a76f41aad2..a2826cf57d78 100644
--- a/fs/xfs/xfs_sb.h
+++ b/fs/xfs/xfs_sb.h
@@ -376,16 +376,6 @@ static inline void xfs_sb_version_addattr(struct xfs_sb *sbp)
 	sbp->sb_versionnum |= XFS_SB_VERSION_ATTRBIT;
 }
 
-static inline bool xfs_sb_version_hasnlink(struct xfs_sb *sbp)
-{
-	return (sbp->sb_versionnum & XFS_SB_VERSION_NLINKBIT);
-}
-
-static inline void xfs_sb_version_addnlink(struct xfs_sb *sbp)
-{
-	sbp->sb_versionnum |= XFS_SB_VERSION_NLINKBIT;
-}
-
 static inline bool xfs_sb_version_hasquota(struct xfs_sb *sbp)
 {
 	return (sbp->sb_versionnum & XFS_SB_VERSION_QUOTABIT);