diff --git a/drivers/staging/lirc/lirc_zilog.c b/drivers/staging/lirc/lirc_zilog.c
index dd6a57c3c3a3..4e051f6b52db 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/lirc/lirc_zilog.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/lirc/lirc_zilog.c
@@ -475,14 +475,14 @@ static int lirc_thread(void *arg)
 	dprintk("poll thread started\n");
 
 	while (!kthread_should_stop()) {
+		set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE);
+
 		/* if device not opened, we can sleep half a second */
 		if (atomic_read(&ir->open_count) == 0) {
 			schedule_timeout(HZ/2);
 			continue;
 		}
 
-		set_current_state(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE);
-
 		/*
 		 * This is ~113*2 + 24 + jitter (2*repeat gap + code length).
 		 * We use this interval as the chip resets every time you poll