diff --git a/cmd/Kconfig b/cmd/Kconfig
index faa8bc62b5..35fe9d5001 100644
--- a/cmd/Kconfig
+++ b/cmd/Kconfig
@@ -1367,17 +1367,20 @@ config CMD_CRAMFS
 
 config CMD_EXT2
 	bool "ext2 command support"
+	select FS_EXT4
 	help
 	  Enables EXT2 FS command
 
 config CMD_EXT4
 	bool "ext4 command support"
+	select FS_EXT4
 	help
 	  Enables EXT4 FS command
 
 config CMD_EXT4_WRITE
 	depends on CMD_EXT4
 	bool "ext4 write command support"
+	select EXT4_WRITE
 	help
 	  Enables EXT4 FS write command
 
diff --git a/configs/ds109_defconfig b/configs/ds109_defconfig
index 6d513cf584..428ac8ce64 100644
--- a/configs/ds109_defconfig
+++ b/configs/ds109_defconfig
@@ -22,3 +22,4 @@ CONFIG_SPI_FLASH_STMICRO=y
 CONFIG_SYS_NS16550=y
 CONFIG_USB=y
 CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD=y
+CONFIG_FS_EXT4=y
diff --git a/configs/mx25pdk_defconfig b/configs/mx25pdk_defconfig
index 2905614c28..563c7acd60 100644
--- a/configs/mx25pdk_defconfig
+++ b/configs/mx25pdk_defconfig
@@ -17,5 +17,6 @@ CONFIG_CMD_DATE=y
 CONFIG_CMD_FS_GENERIC=y
 CONFIG_DOS_PARTITION=y
 CONFIG_ENV_IS_IN_MMC=y
+CONFIG_FS_EXT4=y
 CONFIG_FS_FAT=y
 CONFIG_OF_LIBFDT=y
diff --git a/doc/README.ext4 b/doc/README.ext4
index 2b0eab5dde..8ecd21eee3 100644
--- a/doc/README.ext4
+++ b/doc/README.ext4
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ U-Boot supports access of both ext2 and ext4 filesystems, either in read-only
 mode or in read-write mode.
 
 First, to enable support for both ext4 (and, automatically, ext2 as well),
-but without selecting the corresponding commands, use one of:
+but without selecting the corresponding commands, enable one of the following:
 
-  #define CONFIG_FS_EXT4	(for read-only)
-  #define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE	(for read-write)
+  CONFIG_FS_EXT4	(for read-only)
+  CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE	(for read-write)
 
 Next, to select the ext2-related commands:
 
@@ -20,22 +20,22 @@ or ext4-related commands:
 
 use one or both of:
 
-  #define CONFIG_CMD_EXT2
-  #define CONFIG_CMD_EXT4
+  CONFIG_CMD_EXT2
+  CONFIG_CMD_EXT4
 
-Selecting either of the above automatically defines CONFIG_FS_EXT4 if it
-wasn't defined already.
+Selecting either of the above automatically selects CONFIG_FS_EXT4 if it
+wasn't enabled already.
 
-In addition, to get the write access command "ext4write", use:
+In addition, to get the write access command "ext4write", enable:
 
-  #define CONFIG_CMD_EXT4_WRITE
+  CONFIG_CMD_EXT4_WRITE
 
-which automatically defines CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE if it wasn't defined
+which automatically selects CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE if it wasn't defined
 already.
 
 Also relevant are the generic filesystem commands, selected by:
 
-  #define CONFIG_CMD_FS_GENERIC
+  CONFIG_CMD_FS_GENERIC
 
 This does not automatically enable EXT4 support for you, you still need
 to do that yourself.
diff --git a/fs/ext4/Kconfig b/fs/ext4/Kconfig
index e69de29bb2..1a913d2b6d 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/Kconfig
+++ b/fs/ext4/Kconfig
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+config FS_EXT4
+	bool "Enable ext4 filesystem support"
+	help
+	  This provides support for reading images from the ext4 filesystem.
+	  ext4 is a widely used general-purpose filesystem for Linux.
+	  You can also enable CMD_EXT4 to get access to ext4 commands.
+
+config EXT4_WRITE
+	bool "Enable ext4 filesystem write support"
+	depends on FS_EXT4
+	help
+	  This provides support for creating and writing new files to an
+	  existing ext4 filesystem partition.
diff --git a/include/config_fallbacks.h b/include/config_fallbacks.h
index 2c4d43d672..527dfc71fa 100644
--- a/include/config_fallbacks.h
+++ b/include/config_fallbacks.h
@@ -33,15 +33,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_FS_FAT
 #endif
 
-#if (defined(CONFIG_CMD_EXT4) || defined(CONFIG_CMD_EXT2)) && \
-						!defined(CONFIG_FS_EXT4)
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#endif
-
-#if defined(CONFIG_CMD_EXT4_WRITE) && !defined(CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE)
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
-#endif
-
 /* Rather than repeat this expression each time, add a define for it */
 #if defined(CONFIG_IDE) || \
 	defined(CONFIG_SATA) || \
diff --git a/include/configs/am335x_shc.h b/include/configs/am335x_shc.h
index 32439f5c47..e2d329acab 100644
--- a/include/configs/am335x_shc.h
+++ b/include/configs/am335x_shc.h
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@
 
 /* settings we don;t want on this board */
 #undef CONFIG_SPL_AM33XX_ENABLE_RTC32K_OSC
-#undef CONFIG_CMD_EXT4
-#undef CONFIG_CMD_EXT4_WRITE
 #undef CONFIG_CMD_SPI
 
 #define CONFIG_CMD_CACHE
diff --git a/include/configs/brppt1.h b/include/configs/brppt1.h
index 1f57334310..a8022b87d5 100644
--- a/include/configs/brppt1.h
+++ b/include/configs/brppt1.h
@@ -243,13 +243,5 @@ MMCARGS
 #else
 #error "no storage for Environment defined!"
 #endif
-/*
- * Common filesystems support.  When we have removable storage we
- * enabled a number of useful commands and support.
- */
-#if defined(CONFIG_MMC) || defined(CONFIG_USB_STORAGE)
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
-#endif /* CONFIG_MMC, ... */
 
 #endif	/* ! __CONFIG_BRPPT1_H__ */
diff --git a/include/configs/dragonboard820c.h b/include/configs/dragonboard820c.h
index 010bc44b33..e28a956e92 100644
--- a/include/configs/dragonboard820c.h
+++ b/include/configs/dragonboard820c.h
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@
 	"pxefile_addr_r=0x90100000\0"\
 	BOOTENV
 
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
 #define CONFIG_ENV_SIZE			0x4000
 #define CONFIG_ENV_VARS_UBOOT_CONFIG
 
diff --git a/include/configs/hikey.h b/include/configs/hikey.h
index 7eaa6e4667..130c7694bf 100644
--- a/include/configs/hikey.h
+++ b/include/configs/hikey.h
@@ -66,8 +66,6 @@
 /* SD/MMC configuration */
 #define CONFIG_BOUNCE_BUFFER
 
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-
 /* Command line configuration */
 
 #define CONFIG_MTD_PARTITIONS
diff --git a/include/configs/mx25pdk.h b/include/configs/mx25pdk.h
index 8e8946a6b4..f82c4ccbde 100644
--- a/include/configs/mx25pdk.h
+++ b/include/configs/mx25pdk.h
@@ -65,11 +65,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_CMDLINE_EDITING
 #define CONFIG_SYS_LONGHELP
 
-/* U-Boot commands */
-
-/* Filesystem support */
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-
 /* Ethernet */
 #define CONFIG_FEC_MXC
 #define CONFIG_FEC_MXC_PHYADDR		0x1f
diff --git a/include/configs/pic32mzdask.h b/include/configs/pic32mzdask.h
index 0bb512648a..1f93ae9d83 100644
--- a/include/configs/pic32mzdask.h
+++ b/include/configs/pic32mzdask.h
@@ -87,9 +87,6 @@
 /* FAT FS */
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
 
-/* EXT4 FS */
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-
 /* -------------------------------------------------
  * Environment
  */
diff --git a/include/configs/rcar-gen2-common.h b/include/configs/rcar-gen2-common.h
index 2c10e6152d..19c4c4c72b 100644
--- a/include/configs/rcar-gen2-common.h
+++ b/include/configs/rcar-gen2-common.h
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@
 
 /* Support File sytems */
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
 
 #define CONFIG_CMDLINE_TAG
 #define CONFIG_SETUP_MEMORY_TAGS
diff --git a/include/configs/rcar-gen3-common.h b/include/configs/rcar-gen3-common.h
index 30a98b8ada..7e23b5e054 100644
--- a/include/configs/rcar-gen3-common.h
+++ b/include/configs/rcar-gen3-common.h
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@
 
 /* Support File sytems */
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
 
 #define CONFIG_CMDLINE_TAG
 #define CONFIG_SETUP_MEMORY_TAGS
diff --git a/include/configs/rk3128_common.h b/include/configs/rk3128_common.h
index e915a562b9..b83528edd1 100644
--- a/include/configs/rk3128_common.h
+++ b/include/configs/rk3128_common.h
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_BOUNCE_BUFFER
 
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
 
 /* RAW SD card / eMMC locations. */
 #define CONFIG_SYS_SPI_U_BOOT_OFFS	(128 << 10)
diff --git a/include/configs/rk3328_common.h b/include/configs/rk3328_common.h
index af556323f8..8c1a0e9260 100644
--- a/include/configs/rk3328_common.h
+++ b/include/configs/rk3328_common.h
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_BOUNCE_BUFFER
 
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
 
 /* RAW SD card / eMMC locations. */
 #define CONFIG_SYS_SPI_U_BOOT_OFFS	(128 << 10)
diff --git a/include/configs/rk3399_common.h b/include/configs/rk3399_common.h
index 561bfa73b6..21395bab8a 100644
--- a/include/configs/rk3399_common.h
+++ b/include/configs/rk3399_common.h
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_ROCKCHIP_SDHCI_MAX_FREQ	200000000
 
 #define CONFIG_SUPPORT_VFAT
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
 
 /* RAW SD card / eMMC locations. */
 #define CONFIG_SYS_SPI_U_BOOT_OFFS	(128 << 10)
diff --git a/include/configs/s5p_goni.h b/include/configs/s5p_goni.h
index 1aa1671738..c31896ddf8 100644
--- a/include/configs/s5p_goni.h
+++ b/include/configs/s5p_goni.h
@@ -187,11 +187,6 @@
 #define CONFIG_SAMSUNG_ONENAND		1
 #define CONFIG_SYS_ONENAND_BASE		0xB0000000
 
-/* write support for filesystems */
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
-
-/* GPT */
-
 #define CONFIG_SYS_INIT_SP_ADDR	(CONFIG_SYS_LOAD_ADDR - 0x1000000)
 
 #define CONFIG_USB_GADGET_DWC2_OTG_PHY
diff --git a/include/configs/sandbox.h b/include/configs/sandbox.h
index f0426567fd..cfb3e7affd 100644
--- a/include/configs/sandbox.h
+++ b/include/configs/sandbox.h
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@
 
 #define CONFIG_LMB
 
-#define CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#define CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
 #define CONFIG_HOST_MAX_DEVICES 4
 
 /*
diff --git a/include/configs/tegra-common-post.h b/include/configs/tegra-common-post.h
index 743be6bb56..aea8f1fb8e 100644
--- a/include/configs/tegra-common-post.h
+++ b/include/configs/tegra-common-post.h
@@ -113,11 +113,6 @@
 #ifdef CONFIG_CMD_I2C
 #endif
 
-/* remove partitions/filesystems */
-#ifdef CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#undef CONFIG_FS_EXT4
-#endif
-
 /* remove USB */
 #ifdef CONFIG_USB_EHCI_TEGRA
 #undef CONFIG_USB_EHCI_TEGRA
diff --git a/scripts/config_whitelist.txt b/scripts/config_whitelist.txt
index 526383d5bf..6ef9606c5c 100644
--- a/scripts/config_whitelist.txt
+++ b/scripts/config_whitelist.txt
@@ -601,7 +601,6 @@ CONFIG_ETHER_ON_FCC3
 CONFIG_ETHPRIME
 CONFIG_ETH_BUFSIZE
 CONFIG_ETH_RXSIZE
-CONFIG_EXT4_WRITE
 CONFIG_EXTRA_BOOTARGS
 CONFIG_EXTRA_CLOCK
 CONFIG_EXTRA_ENV
@@ -751,7 +750,6 @@ CONFIG_FSL_VIA
 CONFIG_FSMC_NAND_BASE
 CONFIG_FSMTDBLK
 CONFIG_FSNOTIFY
-CONFIG_FS_EXT4
 CONFIG_FS_POSIX_ACL
 CONFIG_FTAHBC020S
 CONFIG_FTAHBC020S_BASE