diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 409f41a57a..bad63032bb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+## [2.3.0] - To be released
+### Changed
+- Disable bundled binutil and gold on Linux by default. There may be a slight
+  increase in binary link time.
+
 ## [2.2.0] - 2018-08-16
 ### Added
 - EditList support in ISO-BMFF in both input and output (#112).
diff --git a/DEPS b/DEPS
index 2da0e94f2d..21025f25e0 100644
--- a/DEPS
+++ b/DEPS
@@ -30,6 +30,13 @@ deps = {
   "src/packager/testing/gtest":
     Var("chromium_git") + "/external/github.com/google/googletest@6f8a66431cb592dad629028a50b3dd418a408c87",
 
+  # Keep bundled binutil scripts but not downloading actual binaries by default.
+  # Automatic downloading of binutils has been causing problems for some users:
+  # #164, #412, #440. Using bundled binutils helps reduce linking time, but
+  # packager codebase is relatively small, so the gain is not significant.
+  # User can still enable the usage of bundled binutils by running
+  # 'python src/packager/third_party/binutils/download.py' and set
+  # 'linux_use_bundled_binutils' and 'linux_use_bundled_gold' to 1 in GYP_DEFINES.
   "src/packager/third_party/binutils":
     Var("chromium_git") + "/chromium/src/third_party/binutils@8d77853bc9415bcb7bb4206fa2901de7603387db",
 
@@ -98,15 +105,6 @@ hooks = [
     'pattern': '.',
     'action': ['python', 'src/packager/build/mac_toolchain.py'],
   },
-  # Pull binutils for linux.
-  {
-    'name': 'binutils',
-    'pattern': 'src/packager/third_party/binutils',
-    'action': [
-        'python',
-        'src/packager/third_party/binutils/download.py',
-    ],
-  },
   {
     # Pull clang if needed or requested via GYP_DEFINES (GYP_DEFINES="clang=1").
     "name": "clang",
diff --git a/docs/source/build_instructions.md b/docs/source/build_instructions.md
index 4b96a4554e..65999aaae1 100644
--- a/docs/source/build_instructions.md
+++ b/docs/source/build_instructions.md
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ $ sed -i \
 We also need to disable clang and some other features to make it work with musl:
 
 ```shell
-export GYP_DEFINES='linux_use_bundled_binutils=0 linux_use_bundled_gold=0 clang=0 use_experimental_allocator_shim=0 use_allocator=none musl=1'
+export GYP_DEFINES='clang=0 use_experimental_allocator_shim=0 use_allocator=none musl=1'
 ```
 
 ### Arch Linux
diff --git a/gyp_packager.py b/gyp_packager.py
index 0efe8ac6b1..bfd047c85f 100755
--- a/gyp_packager.py
+++ b/gyp_packager.py
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                       'use_glib': 0,
                       'use_openssl': 1,
                       'use_x11': 0,
-                      'linux_use_gold_binary': 0,
+                      'linux_use_bundled_binutils': 0,
+                      'linux_use_bundled_gold': 0,
                       'linux_use_gold_flags': 0,
                       'clang_use_chrome_plugins': 0}
 
diff --git a/packager/testing/dockers/Alpine_Dockerfile b/packager/testing/dockers/Alpine_Dockerfile
index bfce90bab1..a4dcfd3386 100644
--- a/packager/testing/dockers/Alpine_Dockerfile
+++ b/packager/testing/dockers/Alpine_Dockerfile
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ RUN sed -i \
     '/malloc_usable_size/a \\nstruct mallinfo {\n  int arena;\n  int hblkhd;\n  int uordblks;\n};' \
     /usr/include/malloc.h
 
-ENV GYP_DEFINES='linux_use_bundled_binutils=0 linux_use_bundled_gold=0 clang=0 use_experimental_allocator_shim=0 use_allocator=none musl=1'
+ENV GYP_DEFINES='clang=0 use_experimental_allocator_shim=0 use_allocator=none musl=1'
 
 # Build and run this docker by mapping shaka-packager with
 # -v "shaka-packager:/shaka-packager".