diff --git a/net/smc/smc_ib.c b/net/smc/smc_ib.c
index 7d7ba03..a884534 100644
--- a/net/smc/smc_ib.c
+++ b/net/smc/smc_ib.c
@@ -753,8 +753,7 @@ void smc_ib_ndev_change(struct net_device *ndev, unsigned long event)
 			if (!libdev->ops.get_netdev)
 				continue;
 			lndev = libdev->ops.get_netdev(libdev, i + 1);
-			if (lndev)
-				dev_put(lndev);
+			dev_put(lndev);
 			if (lndev != ndev)
 				continue;
 			if (event == NETDEV_REGISTER)