diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_fw.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_fw.c
index 0c6812fcf185..283d25fae79e 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_fw.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_fw.c
@@ -526,15 +526,10 @@ int fbnic_fw_xmit_ownership_msg(struct fbnic_dev *fbd, bool take_ownership)
 			goto free_message;
 	}
 
-	err = fbnic_mbx_map_tlv_msg(fbd, msg);
-	if (err)
-		goto free_message;
-
 	/* Initialize heartbeat, set last response to 1 second in the past
 	 * so that we will trigger a timeout if the firmware doesn't respond
 	 */
 	fbd->last_heartbeat_response = req_time - HZ;
-
 	fbd->last_heartbeat_request = req_time;
 
 	/* Set prev_firmware_time to 0 to avoid triggering firmware crash
@@ -542,6 +537,10 @@ int fbnic_fw_xmit_ownership_msg(struct fbnic_dev *fbd, bool take_ownership)
 	 */
 	fbd->prev_firmware_time = 0;
 
+	err = fbnic_mbx_map_tlv_msg(fbd, msg);
+	if (err)
+		goto free_message;
+
 	/* Set heartbeat detection based on if we are taking ownership */
 	fbd->fw_heartbeat_enabled = take_ownership;