diff --git a/esphomeyaml/config_validation.py b/esphomeyaml/config_validation.py
index e847747911..655be06465 100644
--- a/esphomeyaml/config_validation.py
+++ b/esphomeyaml/config_validation.py
@@ -479,10 +479,7 @@ def domain_name(value):
 
 
 def ssid(value):
-    if value is None:
-        raise vol.Invalid("SSID can not be None")
-    if not isinstance(value, str):
-        raise vol.Invalid("SSID must be a string. Did you wrap it in quotes?")
+    value = string_strict(value)
     if not value:
         raise vol.Invalid("SSID can't be empty.")
     if len(value) > 32: