diff --git a/bin/vernemq.sh b/bin/vernemq.sh
index ecc40fc..25344ec 100755
--- a/bin/vernemq.sh
+++ b/bin/vernemq.sh
@@ -400,8 +400,12 @@ if [ $start_join_cluster  -eq 1 ]; then
     mkdir -p /var/log/vernemq/log
     join_cluster > /var/log/vernemq/log/join_cluster.log &
 fi
+
 if [ -n "$API_KEY" ]; then
-  sleep 10 && echo "Adding API_KEY..." && /vernemq/bin/vmq-admin api-key add key="${API_KEY:-DEFAULT}"
+  sleep 60
+  echo "Adding API_KEY..."
+  vmq-admin api-key add key="${API_KEY}"
   vmq-admin api-key show
 fi
+
 wait $pid