diff --git a/httpclient5/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/nio/PoolingAsyncClientConnectionManager.java b/httpclient5/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/nio/PoolingAsyncClientConnectionManager.java
index 08758fc27..66d621fa8 100644
--- a/httpclient5/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/nio/PoolingAsyncClientConnectionManager.java
+++ b/httpclient5/src/main/java/org/apache/hc/client5/http/impl/nio/PoolingAsyncClientConnectionManager.java
@@ -507,6 +507,7 @@ public class PoolingAsyncClientConnectionManager implements AsyncClientConnectio
 
                                 @Override
                                 public void completed(final ProtocolIOSession protocolIOSession) {
+                                    context.setProtocolVersion(HttpVersion.HTTP_2);
                                     if (callback != null) {
                                         callback.completed(endpoint);
                                     }