diff --git a/src/ping/core/send.c b/src/ping/core/send.c
index c112d7b..2437e19 100644
--- a/src/ping/core/send.c
+++ b/src/ping/core/send.c
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ fill_payload(uint8_t *payload, size_t len, const struct ping_config *config,
 	if (0 == config->pattern_len)
 	{
 		for (i = offset; i < len; ++i)
-			payload[i] = (uint8_t)('a' + ((i - offset) % 26));
+			payload[i] = (uint8_t)((i - offset) & 0xFF);
 	}
 	else
 	{