diff --git a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/streamingringbuffer.cpp b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/streamingringbuffer.cpp
index 063a519bdbe..9beb6b66a48 100644
--- a/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/streamingringbuffer.cpp
+++ b/mythtv/libs/libmythtv/streamingringbuffer.cpp
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ bool StreamingRingBuffer::OpenFile(const QString &lfilename, uint retry_ms)
         LOG(VB_GENERAL, LOG_ERR, LOC +
             QString("Failed to open stream (error %1)") .arg(res));
         lastError = QObject::tr("Failed to open stream (%1)").arg(res);
+        rwlock.unlock();
         return false;
     }