diff --git a/drivers/crypto/intel/qat/qat_common/adf_sysfs.c b/drivers/crypto/intel/qat/qat_common/adf_sysfs.c
index a8f33558d7cb..8880af1aa1b5 100644
--- a/drivers/crypto/intel/qat/qat_common/adf_sysfs.c
+++ b/drivers/crypto/intel/qat/qat_common/adf_sysfs.c
@@ -68,7 +68,9 @@ static ssize_t state_store(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 		dev_info(dev, "Starting device qat_dev%d\n", accel_id);
 
 		ret = adf_dev_up(accel_dev, true);
-		if (ret < 0) {
+		if (ret == -EALREADY) {
+			break;
+		} else if (ret) {
 			dev_err(dev, "Failed to start device qat_dev%d\n",
 				accel_id);
 			adf_dev_down(accel_dev, true);