diff --git a/webrtc/api/statscollector.cc b/webrtc/api/statscollector.cc
index 766e949803..4dd5305528 100644
--- a/webrtc/api/statscollector.cc
+++ b/webrtc/api/statscollector.cc
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ void StatsCollector::AddLocalAudioTrack(AudioTrackInterface* audio_track,
                                         uint32_t ssrc) {
   RTC_DCHECK(pc_->session()->signaling_thread()->IsCurrent());
   RTC_DCHECK(audio_track != NULL);
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
   for (const auto& track : local_audio_tracks_)
     RTC_DCHECK(track.first != audio_track || track.second != ssrc);
 #endif
diff --git a/webrtc/api/statstypes.cc b/webrtc/api/statstypes.cc
index 339d5bbaf7..eb6b30cca6 100644
--- a/webrtc/api/statstypes.cc
+++ b/webrtc/api/statstypes.cc
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ bool StatsReport::Value::Equals(const Value& other) const {
     case kFloat:
       return value_.float_ == other.value_.float_;
     case kStaticString: {
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
       if (value_.static_string_ != other.value_.static_string_) {
         RTC_DCHECK(strcmp(value_.static_string_, other.value_.static_string_) !=
                    0)
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ bool StatsReport::Value::operator==(const char* value) const {
     return value_.string_->compare(value) == 0;
   if (type_ != kStaticString)
     return false;
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
   if (value_.static_string_ != value)
     RTC_DCHECK(strcmp(value_.static_string_, value) != 0)
         << "Duplicate global?";
diff --git a/webrtc/base/buffer.h b/webrtc/base/buffer.h
index 44f941eb60..6ae49f7a8f 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/buffer.h
+++ b/webrtc/base/buffer.h
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ class BufferT {
   // Called when *this has been moved from. Conceptually it's a no-op, but we
   // can mutate the state slightly to help subsequent sanity checks catch bugs.
   void OnMovedFrom() {
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#ifdef NDEBUG
     // Make *this consistent and empty. Shouldn't be necessary, but better safe
     // than sorry.
     size_ = 0;
diff --git a/webrtc/base/checks.h b/webrtc/base/checks.h
index 2d0e8af5d2..a48971fd29 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/checks.h
+++ b/webrtc/base/checks.h
@@ -13,10 +13,7 @@
 
 #include "webrtc/typedefs.h"
 
-// If you for some reson need to know if DCHECKs are on, test the value of
-// RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON. (Test its value, not if it's defined; it'll always be
-// defined, to either a true or a false value.)
-#if !defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON)
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
 #define RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON 1
 #else
 #define RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON 0
@@ -93,9 +90,9 @@ namespace rtc {
       ? static_cast<void>(0)                 \
       : rtc::FatalMessageVoidify() & rtc::FatalMessage("", 0).stream()
 
-// RTC_CHECK dies with a fatal error if condition is not true. It is *not*
-// controlled by NDEBUG or anything else, so the check will be executed
-// regardless of compilation mode.
+// RTC_CHECK dies with a fatal error if condition is not true.  It is *not*
+// controlled by NDEBUG, so the check will be executed regardless of
+// compilation mode.
 //
 // We make sure RTC_CHECK et al. always evaluates their arguments, as
 // doing RTC_CHECK(FunctionWithSideEffect()) is a common idiom.
diff --git a/webrtc/base/criticalsection.h b/webrtc/base/criticalsection.h
index a0f9a6be81..bf77e2b78b 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/criticalsection.h
+++ b/webrtc/base/criticalsection.h
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 #define WEBRTC_BASE_CRITICALSECTION_H_
 
 #include "webrtc/base/atomicops.h"
-#include "webrtc/base/checks.h"
 #include "webrtc/base/constructormagic.h"
 #include "webrtc/base/thread_annotations.h"
 #include "webrtc/base/platform_thread_types.h"
@@ -38,7 +37,11 @@
 #include <dispatch/dispatch.h>
 #endif
 
-#define CS_DEBUG_CHECKS RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
+#define CS_DEBUG_CHECKS 1
+#else
+#define CS_DEBUG_CHECKS 0
+#endif
 
 #if CS_DEBUG_CHECKS
 #define CS_DEBUG_CODE(x) x
diff --git a/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker.h b/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker.h
index 4df5b5420c..9fc3b4a964 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker.h
+++ b/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker.h
@@ -12,9 +12,18 @@
 #define WEBRTC_BASE_SEQUENCED_TASK_CHECKER_H_
 
 // Apart from debug builds, we also enable the sequence checker in
-// builds with RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON so that trybots and waterfall bots
+// builds with DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON so that trybots and waterfall bots
 // with this define will get the same level of checking as debug bots.
-#define ENABLE_SEQUENCED_TASK_CHECKER RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+//
+// Note that this does not perfectly match situations where RTC_DCHECK is
+// enabled.  For example a non-official release build may have
+// DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON undefined (and therefore SequencedTaskChecker would be
+// disabled) but have RTC_DCHECKs enabled at runtime.
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
+#define ENABLE_SEQUENCED_TASK_CHECKER 1
+#else
+#define ENABLE_SEQUENCED_TASK_CHECKER 0
+#endif
 
 #include "webrtc/base/checks.h"
 #include "webrtc/base/constructormagic.h"
diff --git a/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker_unittest.cc b/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker_unittest.cc
index 8588648316..20a4c0f5d4 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker_unittest.cc
+++ b/webrtc/base/sequenced_task_checker_unittest.cc
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, DetachFromTaskQueueAndUseOnThread) {
   EXPECT_TRUE(done_event.Wait(1000));
 }
 
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if !defined(NDEBUG) || DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON
 TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, MethodNotAllowedOnDifferentThreadInDebug) {
   RunMethodOnDifferentThread(false);
 }
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, MethodAllowedOnDifferentThreadInRelease) {
 }
 #endif
 
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if !defined(NDEBUG) || DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON
 TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, MethodNotAllowedOnDifferentTaskQueueInDebug) {
   RunMethodOnDifferentTaskQueue(false);
 }
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, MethodAllowedOnDifferentTaskQueueInRelease) {
 }
 #endif
 
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if !defined(NDEBUG) || DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON
 TEST(SequencedTaskCheckerTest, DetachFromTaskQueueInDebug) {
   DetachThenCallFromDifferentTaskQueue(false);
 }
diff --git a/webrtc/base/stringutils.cc b/webrtc/base/stringutils.cc
index 48830e4233..9580253d1b 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/stringutils.cc
+++ b/webrtc/base/stringutils.cc
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ size_t asccpyn(wchar_t* buffer, size_t buflen,
   } else if (srclen >= buflen) {
     srclen = buflen - 1;
   }
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if !defined(NDEBUG)
   // Double check that characters are not UTF-8
   for (size_t pos = 0; pos < srclen; ++pos)
     RTC_DCHECK_LT(static_cast<unsigned char>(source[pos]), 128);
diff --git a/webrtc/base/thread_checker.h b/webrtc/base/thread_checker.h
index 5914282a57..3ae6e2c9f7 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/thread_checker.h
+++ b/webrtc/base/thread_checker.h
@@ -14,10 +14,19 @@
 #define WEBRTC_BASE_THREAD_CHECKER_H_
 
 // Apart from debug builds, we also enable the thread checker in
-// builds with RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON so that trybots and waterfall bots
+// builds with DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON so that trybots and waterfall bots
 // with this define will get the same level of thread checking as
 // debug bots.
-#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+//
+// Note that this does not perfectly match situations where RTC_DCHECK is
+// enabled.  For example a non-official release build may have
+// DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON undefined (and therefore ThreadChecker would be
+// disabled) but have RTC_DCHECKs enabled at runtime.
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
+#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER 1
+#else
+#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER 0
+#endif
 
 #include "webrtc/base/checks.h"
 #include "webrtc/base/constructormagic.h"
diff --git a/webrtc/base/thread_checker_unittest.cc b/webrtc/base/thread_checker_unittest.cc
index dee1653578..76462fd60e 100644
--- a/webrtc/base/thread_checker_unittest.cc
+++ b/webrtc/base/thread_checker_unittest.cc
@@ -21,7 +21,11 @@
 
 // Duplicated from base/threading/thread_checker.h so that we can be
 // good citizens there and undef the macro.
-#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if !defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON)
+#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER 1
+#else
+#define ENABLE_THREAD_CHECKER 0
+#endif
 
 namespace rtc {
 
diff --git a/webrtc/common_audio/resampler/push_resampler.cc b/webrtc/common_audio/resampler/push_resampler.cc
index 9f329c4cb9..b26774de24 100644
--- a/webrtc/common_audio/resampler/push_resampler.cc
+++ b/webrtc/common_audio/resampler/push_resampler.cc
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ void CheckValidInitParams(int src_sample_rate_hz, int dst_sample_rate_hz,
                           size_t num_channels) {
 // The below checks are temporarily disabled on WEBRTC_WIN due to problems
 // with clang debug builds.
-#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__)
+#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__) && !defined(NDEBUG)
   RTC_DCHECK_GT(src_sample_rate_hz, 0);
   RTC_DCHECK_GT(dst_sample_rate_hz, 0);
   RTC_DCHECK_GT(num_channels, 0u);
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@ void CheckExpectedBufferSizes(size_t src_length,
 // with clang debug builds.
 // TODO(tommi): Re-enable when we've figured out what the problem is.
 // http://crbug.com/615050
-#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__)
+#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__) && !defined(NDEBUG)
   const size_t src_size_10ms = src_sample_rate * num_channels / 100;
   const size_t dst_size_10ms = dst_sample_rate * num_channels / 100;
-  RTC_DCHECK_EQ(src_length, src_size_10ms);
-  RTC_DCHECK_GE(dst_capacity, dst_size_10ms);
+  RTC_CHECK_EQ(src_length, src_size_10ms);
+  RTC_CHECK_GE(dst_capacity, dst_size_10ms);
 #endif
 }
 }
diff --git a/webrtc/media/sctp/sctpdataengine.cc b/webrtc/media/sctp/sctpdataengine.cc
index 0804fed769..a724b2af69 100644
--- a/webrtc/media/sctp/sctpdataengine.cc
+++ b/webrtc/media/sctp/sctpdataengine.cc
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ enum {
 
 // Helper for logging SCTP messages.
 void DebugSctpPrintf(const char* format, ...) {
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
   char s[255];
   va_list ap;
   va_start(ap, format);
diff --git a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/acm2/audio_coding_module_unittest_oldapi.cc b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/acm2/audio_coding_module_unittest_oldapi.cc
index 344bc3b6bb..60e90f7d3b 100644
--- a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/acm2/audio_coding_module_unittest_oldapi.cc
+++ b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/acm2/audio_coding_module_unittest_oldapi.cc
@@ -317,8 +317,8 @@ TEST_F(AudioCodingModuleTestOldApi, VerifyOutputFrame) {
 // with clang debug builds.
 // TODO(tommi): Re-enable when we've figured out what the problem is.
 // http://crbug.com/615050
-#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__) && RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON && \
-    GTEST_HAS_DEATH_TEST && !defined(WEBRTC_ANDROID)
+#if !defined(WEBRTC_WIN) && defined(__clang__) && !defined(NDEBUG)
+#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON && GTEST_HAS_DEATH_TEST && !defined(WEBRTC_ANDROID)
 TEST_F(AudioCodingModuleTestOldApi, FailOnZeroDesiredFrequency) {
   AudioFrame audio_frame;
   bool muted;
@@ -326,6 +326,7 @@ TEST_F(AudioCodingModuleTestOldApi, FailOnZeroDesiredFrequency) {
                "dst_sample_rate_hz");
 }
 #endif
+#endif
 
 // Checks that the transport callback is invoked once for each speech packet.
 // Also checks that the frame type is kAudioFrameSpeech.
diff --git a/webrtc/modules/audio_device/android/opensles_player.cc b/webrtc/modules/audio_device/android/opensles_player.cc
index 9850d00fb6..a63b8c1257 100644
--- a/webrtc/modules/audio_device/android/opensles_player.cc
+++ b/webrtc/modules/audio_device/android/opensles_player.cc
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ int OpenSLESPlayer::StopPlayout() {
   RETURN_ON_ERROR((*player_)->SetPlayState(player_, SL_PLAYSTATE_STOPPED), -1);
   // Clear the buffer queue to flush out any remaining data.
   RETURN_ON_ERROR((*simple_buffer_queue_)->Clear(simple_buffer_queue_), -1);
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#ifndef NDEBUG
   // Verify that the buffer queue is in fact cleared as it should.
   SLAndroidSimpleBufferQueueState buffer_queue_state;
   (*simple_buffer_queue_)->GetState(simple_buffer_queue_, &buffer_queue_state);
diff --git a/webrtc/modules/utility/source/process_thread_impl.cc b/webrtc/modules/utility/source/process_thread_impl.cc
index 3332cd6dc6..66534dedea 100644
--- a/webrtc/modules/utility/source/process_thread_impl.cc
+++ b/webrtc/modules/utility/source/process_thread_impl.cc
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ void ProcessThreadImpl::RegisterModule(Module* module) {
   RTC_DCHECK(thread_checker_.CalledOnValidThread());
   RTC_DCHECK(module);
 
-#if RTC_DCHECK_IS_ON
+#if (!defined(NDEBUG) || defined(DCHECK_ALWAYS_ON))
   {
     // Catch programmer error.
     rtc::CritScope lock(&lock_);