diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index fd1c31bdb..0bbc06261 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ after_success:
 - coveralls
 before_deploy:
 - git checkout $TRAVIS_BRANCH
+- git fetch --unshallow
 - python update_version_from_git.py
 deploy:
   - provider: pypi
diff --git a/update_version_from_git.py b/update_version_from_git.py
index 31fa08139..a48ce5945 100644
--- a/update_version_from_git.py
+++ b/update_version_from_git.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ def git_tag_name():
     return tag_branch
 
 def get_git_version_info():
-    cmd = 'git describe --tags --always'
+    cmd = 'git describe --tags'
     ver_str = subprocess.check_output(cmd, shell=True)
     ver, commits_since, githash = ver_str.decode().strip().split('-')
     return ver, commits_since, githash