diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index ee386a1f..782e6154 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ SVN HEAD
            Add dme1737 support
            Delete support of non-sensor drivers (ddcmon, eeprom)
   Man page sensors.conf.5: Update the chip statement section
+  Programs i2cdump, i2cget, i2cset: Do not force the slave address by default
   Program i2cdump: Use the new I2C block read function
   Program isadump: Detect when address bit 7 is a busy flag
                    Fix Super-I/O exit sequence for Winbond/Fintek chips
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cbusses.c b/prog/dump/i2cbusses.c
index 725dd665..5c511f52 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cbusses.c
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cbusses.c
@@ -243,3 +243,17 @@ int open_i2c_dev(const int i2cbus, char *filename, const int quiet)
 	
 	return file;
 }
+
+int set_slave_addr(int file, int address, int force)
+{
+	/* With force, let the user read from/write to the registers
+	   even when a driver is also running */
+	if (ioctl(file, force ? I2C_SLAVE_FORCE : I2C_SLAVE, address) < 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr,
+		        "Error: Could not set address to 0x%02x: %s\n",
+		        address, strerror(errno));
+		return -errno;
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cbusses.h b/prog/dump/i2cbusses.h
index 35edb195..d7ecb664 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cbusses.h
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cbusses.h
@@ -24,5 +24,6 @@
 void print_i2c_busses(int procfmt);
 
 int open_i2c_dev(const int i2cbus, char *filename, const int quiet);
+int set_slave_addr(int file, int address, int force);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cdump.8 b/prog/dump/i2cdump.8
index 6cc758d2..711c79f3 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cdump.8
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cdump.8
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-.TH I2CDUMP 8 "April 2006"
+.TH I2CDUMP 8 "June 2007"
 .SH NAME
 i2cdump \- examine I2C registers
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B i2cdump
+.RB [ -f ]
 .RB [ -y ]
 .I i2cbus
 .I address
@@ -22,6 +23,13 @@ visible through the I2C bus.
 .B -V
 Display the version and exit.
 .TP
+.B -f
+Force access to the device even if it is already busy. By default, i2cdump
+will refuse to access a device which is already under the control of a
+kernel driver. Using this flag is dangerous, it can seriously confuse the
+kernel driver in question. It can also cause i2cdump to return invalid
+results. So use at your own risk and only if you know what you're doing.
+.TP
 .B -y
 Disable interactive mode. By default, i2cdump will wait for a confirmation
 from the user before messing with the I2C bus. When this flag is used, it
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cdump.c b/prog/dump/i2cdump.c
index 77d53a99..e47663ec 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cdump.c
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cdump.c
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@
 
 void help(void)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cdump [-y] I2CBUS ADDRESS [MODE] [BANK "
-	        "[BANKREG]]\n"
+	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cdump [-f] [-y] I2CBUS ADDRESS [MODE] "
+	        "[BANK [BANKREG]]\n"
 	        "        i2cdump -V\n"
 	        "  MODE is one of:\n"
 		"    b (byte, default)\n"
@@ -60,12 +60,13 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	int block[256], s_length = 0;
 	int pec = 0, even = 0;
 	int flags = 0;
-	int yes = 0, version = 0;
+	int force = 0, yes = 0, version = 0;
 
 	/* handle (optional) flags first */
 	while (1+flags < argc && argv[1+flags][0] == '-') {
 		switch (argv[1+flags][1]) {
 		case 'V': version = 1; break;
+		case 'f': force = 1; break;
 		case 'y': yes = 1; break;
 		default:
 			fprintf(stderr, "Warning: Unsupported flag "
@@ -234,13 +235,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		break;
 	}
 
-	/* use FORCE so that we can look at registers even when
-	   a driver is also running */
-	if (ioctl(file, I2C_SLAVE_FORCE, address) < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Error: Could not set address to %d: %s\n",
-		        address, strerror(errno));
+	if (set_slave_addr(file, address, force) < 0)
 		exit(1);
-	}
 
 	if (pec) {
 		if (ioctl(file, I2C_PEC, 1) < 0) {
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cget.8 b/prog/dump/i2cget.8
index 6d7d469f..642343b7 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cget.8
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cget.8
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-.TH I2CGET 8 "September 2005"
+.TH I2CGET 8 "June 2007"
 .SH "NAME"
 i2cget \- read from I2C/SMBus chip registers
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B i2cget
+.RB [ -f ]
 .RB [ -y ]
 .I i2cbus
 .I chip-address
@@ -21,6 +22,13 @@ bus (or SMBus).
 .B -V
 Display the version and exit.
 .TP
+.B -f
+Force access to the device even if it is already busy. By default, i2cget
+will refuse to access a device which is already under the control of a
+kernel driver. Using this flag is dangerous, it can seriously confuse the
+kernel driver in question. It can also cause i2cget to return an invalid
+value. So use at your own risk and only if you know what you're doing.
+.TP
 .B -y
 Disable interactive mode. By default, i2cget will wait for a confirmation
 from the user before messing with the I2C bus. When this flag is used, it
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cget.c b/prog/dump/i2cget.c
index acadb233..314b5192 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cget.c
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cget.c
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ void help(void) __attribute__ ((noreturn));
 
 void help(void)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cget [-y] I2CBUS CHIP-ADDRESS [DATA-ADDRESS "
-	        "[MODE]]\n"
+	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cget [-f] [-y] I2CBUS CHIP-ADDRESS "
+	        "[DATA-ADDRESS [MODE]]\n"
 	        "        i2cget -V\n"
 	        "  MODE can be: 'b' (read byte data, default)\n"
 	        "               'w' (read word data)\n"
@@ -102,19 +102,6 @@ int check_funcs(int file, int i2cbus, int size, int daddress, int pec)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-int set_slave(int file, int address)
-{
-	/* use FORCE so that we can read registers even when
-	   a driver is also running */
-	if (ioctl(file, I2C_SLAVE_FORCE, address) < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Error: Could not set address to %d: %s\n",
-		        address, strerror(errno));
-		return -1;
-	}
-
-	return 0;
-}
-
 int confirm(const char *filename, int address, int size, int daddress, int pec)
 {
 	int dont = 0;
@@ -173,12 +160,13 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	char filename[20];
 	int pec = 0;
 	int flags = 0;
-	int yes = 0, version = 0;
+	int force = 0, yes = 0, version = 0;
 
 	/* handle (optional) flags first */
 	while (1+flags < argc && argv[1+flags][0] == '-') {
 		switch (argv[1+flags][1]) {
 		case 'V': version = 1; break;
+		case 'f': force = 1; break;
 		case 'y': yes = 1; break;
 		default:
 			fprintf(stderr, "Warning: Unsupported flag "
@@ -235,7 +223,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	file = open_i2c_dev(i2cbus, filename, 0);
 	if (file < 0
 	 || check_funcs(file, i2cbus, size, daddress, pec)
-	 || set_slave(file, address))
+	 || set_slave_addr(file, address, force))
 		exit(1);
 
 	if (!yes && !confirm(filename, address, size, daddress, pec))
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cset.8 b/prog/dump/i2cset.8
index a4b64c33..97a5c9bc 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cset.8
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cset.8
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-.TH I2CSET 8 "September 2005"
+.TH I2CSET 8 "June 2007"
 .SH "NAME"
 i2cset \- set I2C registers
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B i2cset
+.RB [ -f ]
 .RB [ -y ]
 .I i2cbus
 .I chip-address
@@ -24,6 +25,14 @@ bus.
 .B -V
 Display the version and exit.
 .TP
+.B -f
+Force access to the device even if it is already busy. By default, i2cset
+will refuse to access a device which is already under the control of a
+kernel driver. Using this flag is dangerous, it can seriously confuse the
+kernel driver in question. It can also cause i2cset to silently write to
+the wrong register. So use at your own risk and only if you know what
+you're doing.
+.TP
 .B -y
 Disable interactive mode. By default, i2cset will wait for a confirmation
 from the user before messing with the I2C bus. When this flag is used, it
diff --git a/prog/dump/i2cset.c b/prog/dump/i2cset.c
index 2f0b1d35..3be4a9c4 100644
--- a/prog/dump/i2cset.c
+++ b/prog/dump/i2cset.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ void help(void) __attribute__ ((noreturn));
 
 void help(void)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cset [-y] I2CBUS CHIP-ADDRESS DATA-ADDRESS "
+	fprintf(stderr, "Syntax: i2cset [-f] [-y] I2CBUS CHIP-ADDRESS DATA-ADDRESS "
 	        "VALUE [MODE] [MASK]\n"
 	        "        i2cset -V\n"
 	        "  MODE is 'b[yte]' or 'w[ord]' (default b)\n"
@@ -53,12 +53,13 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	unsigned long funcs;
 	int pec = 0;
 	int flags = 0;
-	int yes = 0, version = 0;
+	int force = 0, yes = 0, version = 0;
 
 	/* handle (optional) flags first */
 	while (1+flags < argc && argv[1+flags][0] == '-') {
 		switch (argv[1+flags][1]) {
 		case 'V': version = 1; break;
+		case 'f': force = 1; break;
 		case 'y': yes = 1; break;
 		default:
 			fprintf(stderr, "Warning: Unsupported flag "
@@ -160,13 +161,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		break;
 	}
 
-	/* use FORCE so that we can write registers even when
-	   a driver is also running */
-	if (ioctl(file, I2C_SLAVE_FORCE, address) < 0) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "Error: Could not set address to %d: %s\n",
-		        address, strerror(errno));
+	if (set_slave_addr(file, address, force) < 0)
 		exit(1);
-	}
 
 	if (!yes) {
 		int dont = 0;