diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 75b14406306..16c6390a54a 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ before_install:
   - gem install cocoapods -v '1.0.0'
   - pod --version
   - brew install gflags
+  - pushd third_party/protobuf
+  - git checkout v3.0.0-beta-3
+  - popd
 install:
   - make grpc_objective_c_plugin
   - pushd src/objective-c/tests