diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
index de2c39436fe0..8166fb619db4 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_ethtool.c
@@ -2070,11 +2070,8 @@ static void igb_diag_test(struct net_device *netdev,
 	} else {
 		dev_info(&adapter->pdev->dev, "online testing starting\n");
 
-		/* PHY is powered down when interface is down */
-		if (if_running && igb_link_test(adapter, &data[TEST_LINK]))
+		if (igb_link_test(adapter, &data[TEST_LINK]))
 			eth_test->flags |= ETH_TEST_FL_FAILED;
-		else
-			data[TEST_LINK] = 0;
 
 		/* Online tests aren't run; pass by default */
 		data[TEST_REG] = 0;