diff --git a/lib/client/client.js b/lib/client/client.js
index 0df8e1a..ffb7b41 100644
--- a/lib/client/client.js
+++ b/lib/client/client.js
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ function Client(options) {
 
   EventEmitter.call(this, options);
 
+  var self = this;
   var _url;
   if (options.url)
     _url = url.parse(options.url);
@@ -213,6 +214,21 @@ function Client(options) {
     this.queue.freeze();
   }
 
+  // Implicitly configure setup action to bind the client if bindDN and
+  // bindCredentials are passed in.  This will more closely mimic PooledClient
+  // auto-login behavior.
+  if (options.bindDN !== undefined &&
+      options.bindCredentials !== undefined) {
+    this.on('setup', function (clt, cb) {
+      clt.bind(options.bindDN, options.bindCredentials, function (err) {
+        if (err) {
+          self.emit('error', err);
+        }
+        cb(err);
+      });
+    });
+  }
+
   this.socket = null;
   this.connected = false;
   this._connect();
diff --git a/test/client.test.js b/test/client.test.js
index 160d575..451ae4c 100644
--- a/test/client.test.js
+++ b/test/client.test.js
@@ -191,6 +191,36 @@ test('simple bind success', function (t) {
 });
 
 
+test('auto-bind bad credentials', function (t) {
+  var clt = ldap.createClient({
+    socketPath: SOCKET,
+    bindDN: BIND_DN,
+    bindCredentials: 'totallybogus',
+    log: LOG
+  });
+  clt.once('error', function (err) {
+    t.equal(err.code, ldap.LDAP_INVALID_CREDENTIALS);
+    clt.destroy();
+    t.end();
+  });
+});
+
+
+test('auto-bind success', function (t) {
+  var clt = ldap.createClient({
+    socketPath: SOCKET,
+    bindDN: BIND_DN,
+    bindCredentials: BIND_PW,
+    log: LOG
+  });
+  clt.once('connect', function () {
+    t.ok(clt);
+    clt.destroy();
+    t.end();
+  });
+});
+
+
 test('add success', function (t) {
   var attrs = [
     new Attribute({