diff --git a/lib/private/DB/Connection.php b/lib/private/DB/Connection.php
index 3cb8ea17aedd1..ecc6d09bc9536 100644
--- a/lib/private/DB/Connection.php
+++ b/lib/private/DB/Connection.php
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ class Connection extends PrimaryReadReplicaConnection {
 	protected array $shards = [];
 	protected ShardConnectionManager $shardConnectionManager;
 	protected AutoIncrementHandler $autoIncrementHandler;
+	protected bool $isShardingEnabled;
 
 	public const SHARD_PRESETS = [
 		'filecache' => [
@@ -130,14 +131,17 @@ public function __construct(
 		parent::__construct($params, $driver, $config, $eventManager);
 		$this->adapter = new $params['adapter']($this);
 		$this->tablePrefix = $params['tablePrefix'];
-
-		/** @psalm-suppress InvalidArrayOffset */
-		$this->shardConnectionManager = $this->params['shard_connection_manager'] ?? Server::get(ShardConnectionManager::class);
-		/** @psalm-suppress InvalidArrayOffset */
-		$this->autoIncrementHandler = $this->params['auto_increment_handler'] ?? new AutoIncrementHandler(
-			Server::get(ICacheFactory::class),
-			$this->shardConnectionManager,
-		);
+		$this->isShardingEnabled = isset($this->params['sharding']) && !empty($this->params['sharding']);
+
+		if ($this->isShardingEnabled) {
+			/** @psalm-suppress InvalidArrayOffset */
+			$this->shardConnectionManager = $this->params['shard_connection_manager'] ?? Server::get(ShardConnectionManager::class);
+			/** @psalm-suppress InvalidArrayOffset */
+			$this->autoIncrementHandler = $this->params['auto_increment_handler'] ?? new AutoIncrementHandler(
+				Server::get(ICacheFactory::class),
+				$this->shardConnectionManager,
+			);
+		}
 		$this->systemConfig = \OC::$server->getSystemConfig();
 		$this->clock = Server::get(ClockInterface::class);
 		$this->logger = Server::get(LoggerInterface::class);
@@ -192,10 +196,12 @@ public function __construct(
 	 */
 	public function getShardConnections(): array {
 		$connections = [];
-		foreach ($this->shards as $shardDefinition) {
-			foreach ($shardDefinition->getAllShards() as $shard) {
-				/** @var ConnectionAdapter $connection */
-				$connections[] = $this->shardConnectionManager->getConnection($shardDefinition, $shard);
+		if ($this->isShardingEnabled) {
+			foreach ($this->shards as $shardDefinition) {
+				foreach ($shardDefinition->getAllShards() as $shard) {
+					/** @var ConnectionAdapter $connection */
+					$connections[] = $this->shardConnectionManager->getConnection($shardDefinition, $shard);
+				}
 			}
 		}
 		return $connections;
@@ -255,7 +261,7 @@ public function getQueryBuilder(): IQueryBuilder {
 			$this->systemConfig,
 			$this->logger
 		);
-		if (count($this->partitions) > 0) {
+		if ($this->isShardingEnabled && count($this->partitions) > 0) {
 			$builder = new PartitionedQueryBuilder(
 				$builder,
 				$this->shards,
diff --git a/lib/private/DB/ConnectionFactory.php b/lib/private/DB/ConnectionFactory.php
index 8f161b68ecb27..8d662b0508ce3 100644
--- a/lib/private/DB/ConnectionFactory.php
+++ b/lib/private/DB/ConnectionFactory.php
@@ -225,11 +225,16 @@ public function createConnectionParams(string $configPrefix = '', array $additio
 		}
 
 		$connectionParams['sharding'] = $this->config->getValue('dbsharding', []);
-		$connectionParams['shard_connection_manager'] = $this->shardConnectionManager;
-		$connectionParams['auto_increment_handler'] = new AutoIncrementHandler(
-			$this->cacheFactory,
-			$this->shardConnectionManager,
-		);
+		if (!empty($connectionParams['sharding'])) {
+			$connectionParams['shard_connection_manager'] = $this->shardConnectionManager;
+			$connectionParams['auto_increment_handler'] = new AutoIncrementHandler(
+				$this->cacheFactory,
+				$this->shardConnectionManager,
+			);
+		} else {
+			// just in case only the presence could lead to funny behaviour
+			unset($connectionParams['sharding']);
+		}
 
 		$connectionParams = array_merge($connectionParams, $additionalConnectionParams);
 
diff --git a/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Partitioned/PartitionedQueryBuilderTest.php b/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Partitioned/PartitionedQueryBuilderTest.php
index 0397ce687767b..12ba74fe89fe0 100644
--- a/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Partitioned/PartitionedQueryBuilderTest.php
+++ b/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Partitioned/PartitionedQueryBuilderTest.php
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ class PartitionedQueryBuilderTest extends TestCase {
 	private AutoIncrementHandler $autoIncrementHandler;
 
 	protected function setUp(): void {
+		if (PHP_INT_SIZE < 8) {
+			$this->markTestSkipped('Test requires 64bit');
+		}
 		$this->connection = Server::get(IDBConnection::class);
 		$this->shardConnectionManager = Server::get(ShardConnectionManager::class);
 		$this->autoIncrementHandler = Server::get(AutoIncrementHandler::class);
diff --git a/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Sharded/SharedQueryBuilderTest.php b/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Sharded/SharedQueryBuilderTest.php
index 7af93bbbe590a..8f95c1b626352 100644
--- a/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Sharded/SharedQueryBuilderTest.php
+++ b/tests/lib/DB/QueryBuilder/Sharded/SharedQueryBuilderTest.php
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ class SharedQueryBuilderTest extends TestCase {
 	private AutoIncrementHandler $autoIncrementHandler;
 
 	protected function setUp(): void {
+		if (PHP_INT_SIZE < 8) {
+			$this->markTestSkipped('Test requires 64bit');
+		}
 		$this->connection = Server::get(IDBConnection::class);
 		$this->autoIncrementHandler = Server::get(AutoIncrementHandler::class);
 	}
diff --git a/version.php b/version.php
index 856c0764327b3..e020e4f483a39 100644
--- a/version.php
+++ b/version.php
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 // between betas, final and RCs. This is _not_ the public version number. Reset minor/patch level
 // when updating major/minor version number.
 
-$OC_Version = [31, 0, 0, 1];
+$OC_Version = [31, 0, 0, 2];
 
 // The human-readable string
 $OC_VersionString = '31.0.0 dev';