diff --git a/.appveyor.yml b/.appveyor.yml
index 117b55843..cded42e17 100644
--- a/.appveyor.yml
+++ b/.appveyor.yml
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ install:
   - "python -c \"import struct; print(struct.calcsize('P') * 8)\""
 
   # upgrade pip and setuptools to avoid out-of-date warnings
-  - "python -m pip install --disable-pip-version-check --user --upgrade pip setuptools"
+  - "python -m pip install --disable-pip-version-check --user --upgrade pip"
+  # use setuptools 28.8.0 while 29.0.0 is broken
+  - "python -m pip install --disable-pip-version-check --user --upgrade setuptools==28.8.0"
   - "python -m pip --version"
 
   # install the dependencies to run the tests