diff --git a/tools/Unix.mk b/tools/Unix.mk
index f25c323831f8f..14073d01e096a 100644
--- a/tools/Unix.mk
+++ b/tools/Unix.mk
@@ -746,7 +746,10 @@ olddefconfig:
 menuconfig:
 	$(Q) $(MAKE) clean_context
 	$(Q) $(MAKE) apps_preconfig
+	$(Q) cp .config .config.tmp 2>/dev/null || true
 	$(Q) ${KCONFIG_ENV} ${KCONFIG_MENUCONFIG}
+	$(Q) cmp -s .config .config.tmp || $(MAKE) clean
+	$(Q) rm -f .config.tmp
 
 nconfig: apps_preconfig
 	$(Q) $(MAKE) clean_context