diff --git a/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF b/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
index 3b074de450e..ba2364abd6d 100644
--- a/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
+++ b/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ Manifest-Version: 1.0
 Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
 Bundle-Name: %pluginName
 Bundle-SymbolicName: org.eclipse.jsch.ui;singleton:=true
-Bundle-Version: 1.6.0.qualifier
+Bundle-Version: 1.6.100.qualifier
 Bundle-Activator: org.eclipse.jsch.internal.ui.JSchUIPlugin
 Bundle-Vendor: %providerName
 Bundle-Localization: plugin
diff --git a/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/src/org/eclipse/jsch/internal/ui/preference/PreferencePage.java b/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/src/org/eclipse/jsch/internal/ui/preference/PreferencePage.java
index f0910685121..5230894a90f 100644
--- a/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/src/org/eclipse/jsch/internal/ui/preference/PreferencePage.java
+++ b/team/bundles/org.eclipse.jsch.ui/src/org/eclipse/jsch/internal/ui/preference/PreferencePage.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2000, 2025 IBM Corporation and others.
+ * Copyright (c) 2000, 2026 IBM Corporation and others.
  *
  * This program and the accompanying materials
  * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License 2.0
@@ -742,8 +742,6 @@ public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent e){
 					}
 				}
 
-				kpair.setPassphrase(pass);
-
 				String home=ssh2HomeText.getText();
 
 				File _home=new File(home);
@@ -777,7 +775,8 @@ public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent e){
 
 				boolean ok=true;
 				try{
-					kpair.writePrivateKey(file);
+					byte[] passBytes = pass.isEmpty() ? null : pass.getBytes();
+					kpair.writePrivateKey(file, passBytes);
 					kpair.writePublicKey(file+".pub", kpairComment); //$NON-NLS-1$
 				}
 				catch(Exception ee){