diff --git a/drivers/i2c/i2c-atr.c b/drivers/i2c/i2c-atr.c
index e6d2af659d81..ca29633dcd62 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/i2c-atr.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/i2c-atr.c
@@ -855,6 +855,7 @@ int i2c_atr_add_adapter(struct i2c_atr *atr, struct i2c_atr_adap_desc *desc)
 
 	ret = i2c_add_adapter(&chan->adap);
 	if (ret) {
+		atr->adapter[chan_id] = NULL;
 		dev_err(dev, "failed to add atr-adapter %u (error=%d)\n",
 			chan_id, ret);
 		goto err_free_alias_pool;