diff --git a/backbone.js b/backbone.js
index 31f5541ae..a8fbea223 100644
--- a/backbone.js
+++ b/backbone.js
@@ -761,12 +761,13 @@
           fragment = window.location.pathname;
           var search = window.location.search;
           if (search) fragment += search;
-          if (fragment.indexOf(this.options.root) == 0) fragment = fragment.substr(this.options.root.length);
         } else {
           fragment = window.location.hash;
         }
       }
-      return decodeURIComponent(fragment.replace(hashStrip, ''));
+      fragment = decodeURIComponent(fragment.replace(hashStrip, ''));
+      if (!fragment.indexOf(this.options.root)) fragment = fragment.substr(this.options.root.length);
+      return fragment;
     },
 
     // Start the hash change handling, returning `true` if the current URL matches