diff --git a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
index 637c5b8c2aa1..8ff9f4482907 100644
--- a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
+++ b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
@@ -149,6 +149,11 @@ static void hci_uart_write_work(struct work_struct *work)
 	struct hci_dev *hdev = hu->hdev;
 	struct sk_buff *skb;
 
+	if (!test_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_READY, &hu->flags)) {
+		clear_bit(HCI_UART_SENDING, &hu->tx_state);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	/* REVISIT: should we cope with bad skbs or ->write() returning
 	 * and error value ?
 	 */