diff --git a/drivers/base/regmap/regcache.c b/drivers/base/regmap/regcache.c
index df7ff7290821..4e582561e1e7 100644
--- a/drivers/base/regmap/regcache.c
+++ b/drivers/base/regmap/regcache.c
@@ -38,10 +38,11 @@ static int regcache_hw_init(struct regmap *map)
 
 	/* calculate the size of reg_defaults */
 	for (count = 0, i = 0; i < map->num_reg_defaults_raw; i++)
-		if (!regmap_volatile(map, i * map->reg_stride))
+		if (regmap_readable(map, i * map->reg_stride) &&
+		    !regmap_volatile(map, i * map->reg_stride))
 			count++;
 
-	/* all registers are volatile, so just bypass */
+	/* all registers are unreadable or volatile, so just bypass */
 	if (!count) {
 		map->cache_bypass = true;
 		return 0;