diff --git a/fs/nfs/flexfilelayout/flexfilelayout.c b/fs/nfs/flexfilelayout/flexfilelayout.c
index 84d22f715653..d4f2b57e9d5b 100644
--- a/fs/nfs/flexfilelayout/flexfilelayout.c
+++ b/fs/nfs/flexfilelayout/flexfilelayout.c
@@ -1423,6 +1423,23 @@ static int ff_layout_async_handle_error_v4(struct rpc_task *task,
 	if (ff_layout_avoid_mds_available_ds(lseg))
 		return -NFS4ERR_RESET_TO_PNFS;
 reset:
+	/*
+	 * FF_FLAGS_NO_IO_THRU_MDS: never resend through the MDS.  The
+	 * caller would do so with force_mds set (ff_layout_reset_read(),
+	 * ff_layout_reset_write(hdr, false) -> pnfs_*_done_resend_to_mds()),
+	 * which builds a descriptor out of the plain MDS page ops and so
+	 * consults no layout at all -- this is the last point at which the
+	 * policy can still be applied.  Retry through pNFS instead, which
+	 * takes a fresh LAYOUTGET; that is also the right answer for the
+	 * invalid-layout cases that jump here, since they have just called
+	 * pnfs_destroy_layout().  Having done so they can no longer ask the
+	 * layout hdr about the flag, hence the inode.
+	 */
+	if (nfs_no_io_thru_mds(inode)) {
+		dprintk("%s Retry through pNFS, no MDS fallback. Error %d\n",
+			__func__, task->tk_status);
+		return -NFS4ERR_RESET_TO_PNFS;
+	}
 	dprintk("%s Retry through MDS. Error %d\n", __func__,
 		task->tk_status);
 	return -NFS4ERR_RESET_TO_MDS;