diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-highlander.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-highlander.c
index 803dad70e2a71..a2add128d0843 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-highlander.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-highlander.c
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ static int highlander_i2c_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 	platform_set_drvdata(pdev, dev);
 
 	dev->irq = platform_get_irq(pdev, 0);
-	if (iic_force_poll)
+	if (dev->irq < 0 || iic_force_poll)
 		dev->irq = 0;
 
 	if (dev->irq) {