diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-qup.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-qup.c
index 3417f7dffa94..7bab436bd8f8 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-qup.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-qup.c
@@ -449,8 +449,10 @@ static int qup_i2c_bus_active(struct qup_i2c_dev *qup, int len)
 		if (!(status & I2C_STATUS_BUS_ACTIVE))
 			break;
 
-		if (time_after(jiffies, timeout))
+		if (time_after(jiffies, timeout)) {
 			ret = -ETIMEDOUT;
+			break;
+		}
 
 		usleep_range(len, len * 2);
 	}