diff --git a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Connection.java b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Connection.java
index b26e4d1bb43b..8220189d9b51 100644
--- a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Connection.java
+++ b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Connection.java
@@ -180,8 +180,13 @@ default BufferedMutator getBufferedMutator(TableName tableName) throws IOExcepti
    */
   AsyncConnection toAsyncConnection();
 
-  /** Returns the cluster ID unique to this HBase cluster. */
-  String getClusterId();
+  /**
+   * Returns the cluster ID unique to this HBase cluster. <br>
+   * The default implementation is added to keep client compatibility.
+   */
+  default String getClusterId() {
+    return null;
+  }
 
   /**
    * Retrieve an Hbck implementation to fix an HBase cluster. The returned Hbck is not guaranteed to