diff --git a/molecule/highavailability/playbook-dqlite.yml b/molecule/highavailability/playbook-dqlite.yml
index 4d41510..786caf7 100644
--- a/molecule/highavailability/playbook-dqlite.yml
+++ b/molecule/highavailability/playbook-dqlite.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
   vars:
     molecule_is_test: true
     k3s_dqlite_datastore: true
+    k3s_secrets_encryption: true
     k3s_use_experimental: true
   pre_tasks:
     - name: Set each node to be a control node
diff --git a/tasks/validate/check-variables.yml b/tasks/validate/check-variables.yml
index b9b26a7..3fab225 100644
--- a/tasks/validate/check-variables.yml
+++ b/tasks/validate/check-variables.yml
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@
 - name: Check k3s_flannel_backend 'host-gw' configuration against k3s version
   assert:
     that:
-      - (k3s_release_version | replace('v', '')) is version_compare('1.17.2', '>=')
+      - (k3s_release_version | replace('v', '')) is version_compare('1.16.9', '>=')
     success_msg: "host-gw flannel backend supported in {{ k3s_release_version }}"
     fail_msg: "host-gw flannel backend is not supported in {{ k3s_release_version }}"
   when: k3s_flannel_backend is defined and k3s_flannel_backend == 'host-gw'
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@
 - name: Check k3s_secrets_encryption against k3s version
   assert:
     that:
-      - (k3s_release_version | replace('v', '')) is version_compare('1.17.4', '>=')
+      - (k3s_release_version | replace('v', '')) is version_compare('1.16.9', '>=')
     success_msg: "Secrets encryption at rest supported in {{ k3s_release_version }}"
     fail_msg: "Secrets encryption at rest is not supported in {{ k3s_release_version }}"
   when: k3s_secrets_encryption is defined and k3s_secrets_encryption