diff --git a/net/core/dev.c b/net/core/dev.c
index b8f74cfb1bfd..fe10551d3671 100644
--- a/net/core/dev.c
+++ b/net/core/dev.c
@@ -942,14 +942,15 @@ int dev_change_name(struct net_device *dev, const char *newname)
 	ret = notifier_to_errno(ret);
 
 	if (ret) {
-		if (err) {
-			printk(KERN_ERR
-			       "%s: name change rollback failed: %d.\n",
-			       dev->name, ret);
-		} else {
+		/* err >= 0 after dev_alloc_name() or stores the first errno */
+		if (err >= 0) {
 			err = ret;
 			memcpy(dev->name, oldname, IFNAMSIZ);
 			goto rollback;
+		} else {
+			printk(KERN_ERR
+			       "%s: name change rollback failed: %d.\n",
+			       dev->name, ret);
 		}
 	}