diff --git a/drivers/ws281x/include/ws281x_params.h b/drivers/ws281x/include/ws281x_params.h
index 68791ac805424..e68b8f91839b2 100644
--- a/drivers/ws281x/include/ws281x_params.h
+++ b/drivers/ws281x/include/ws281x_params.h
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 #define WS281X_PARAMS_H
 
 #include "board.h"
-#include "macros/units.h"
 #include "ws281x.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
@@ -103,7 +102,7 @@ static const ws281x_params_t ws281x_params[] =
  * depending on the precise low and high times. A value of 16MHz works well.
  * */
 #ifndef WS281X_TIMER_FREQ
-#define WS281X_TIMER_FREQ MHZ(16)
+#define WS281X_TIMER_FREQ 16000000
 #endif
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus