diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
index f85d5f9b5fce..7b95ce0445a9 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_bo.c
@@ -495,12 +495,27 @@ static void xe_bo_account_pin(struct xe_bo *bo)
  * ttm_bo_unpin(), so that the check against the true 1->0 transition sees
  * the pin count that is about to be released. See xe_bo_account_pin() for
  * why imported bos are excluded.
+ *
+ * On the true last unpin, also removes @bo from whichever pinned-bo list
+ * (external or kernel_bo_present) it may currently be linked on, since a
+ * bo's final unpin can happen through a pin path (e.g. framebuffer,
+ * backup object) that has no notion of, or ownership over, that list.
+ * This is safe and list-agnostic: list_del_init() only needs the node
+ * itself, not knowledge of which list it is threaded through, and is a
+ * no-op if @bo is not linked.
  */
 static void xe_bo_account_unpin(struct xe_bo *bo)
 {
 	struct xe_device *xe = xe_bo_device(bo);
+	bool last_unpin = bo->ttm.pin_count == 1;
 
-	if (bo->ttm.pin_count == 1 && bo->ttm.ttm && ttm_tt_is_populated(bo->ttm.ttm) &&
+	if (last_unpin && !list_empty(&bo->pinned_link)) {
+		spin_lock(&xe->pinned.lock);
+		list_del_init(&bo->pinned_link);
+		spin_unlock(&xe->pinned.lock);
+	}
+
+	if (last_unpin && bo->ttm.ttm && ttm_tt_is_populated(bo->ttm.ttm) &&
 	    !xe_ttm_bo_is_imported(&bo->ttm))
 		xe_ttm_tt_account_add(xe, bo->ttm.ttm);
 }
@@ -3315,11 +3330,6 @@ void xe_bo_unpin_external(struct xe_bo *bo)
 	xe_assert(xe, xe_bo_is_pinned(bo));
 	xe_assert(xe, xe_bo_is_user(bo));
 
-	spin_lock(&xe->pinned.lock);
-	if (bo->ttm.pin_count == 1 && !list_empty(&bo->pinned_link))
-		list_del_init(&bo->pinned_link);
-	spin_unlock(&xe->pinned.lock);
-
 	xe_bo_unpin_account(bo);
 
 	/*
@@ -3338,10 +3348,7 @@ void xe_bo_unpin(struct xe_bo *bo)
 	xe_assert(xe, xe_bo_is_pinned(bo));
 
 	if (mem_type_is_vram(place->mem_type) || bo->flags & XE_BO_FLAG_GGTT) {
-		spin_lock(&xe->pinned.lock);
 		xe_assert(xe, !list_empty(&bo->pinned_link));
-		list_del_init(&bo->pinned_link);
-		spin_unlock(&xe->pinned.lock);
 
 		if (bo->backup_obj) {
 			if (xe_bo_is_pinned(bo->backup_obj))