diff --git a/drivers/soundwire/intel.c b/drivers/soundwire/intel.c
index 8634d33c388c..272826973426 100644
--- a/drivers/soundwire/intel.c
+++ b/drivers/soundwire/intel.c
@@ -1400,7 +1400,14 @@ int intel_master_startup(struct platform_device *pdev)
 		dev_dbg(dev, "Multi-link is disabled\n");
 		bus->multi_link = false;
 	} else {
+		/*
+		 * hardware-based synchronization is required regardless
+		 * of the number of segments used by a stream: SSP-based
+		 * synchronization is gated by gsync when the multi-master
+		 * mode is set.
+		 */
 		bus->multi_link = true;
+		bus->hw_sync_min_links = 1;
 	}
 
 	/* Initialize shim, controller */