diff --git a/fs/btrfs/ctree.h b/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
index 729b5b80014a..9a72896bed2e 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
+++ b/fs/btrfs/ctree.h
@@ -2518,7 +2518,7 @@ int btrfs_pin_extent_for_log_replay(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
 				    u64 bytenr, u64 num_bytes);
 int btrfs_exclude_logged_extents(struct extent_buffer *eb);
 int btrfs_cross_ref_exist(struct btrfs_root *root,
-			  u64 objectid, u64 offset, u64 bytenr);
+			  u64 objectid, u64 offset, u64 bytenr, bool strict);
 struct extent_buffer *btrfs_alloc_tree_block(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
 					     struct btrfs_root *root,
 					     u64 parent, u64 root_objectid,
@@ -2934,7 +2934,7 @@ struct extent_map *btrfs_get_extent_fiemap(struct btrfs_inode *inode,
 					   u64 start, u64 len);
 noinline int can_nocow_extent(struct inode *inode, u64 offset, u64 *len,
 			      u64 *orig_start, u64 *orig_block_len,
-			      u64 *ram_bytes);
+			      u64 *ram_bytes, bool strict);
 
 void __btrfs_del_delalloc_inode(struct btrfs_root *root,
 				struct btrfs_inode *inode);
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c b/fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c
index de6fe176fdfb..5871ef78edba 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c
@@ -2306,7 +2306,8 @@ static noinline int check_delayed_ref(struct btrfs_root *root,
 
 static noinline int check_committed_ref(struct btrfs_root *root,
 					struct btrfs_path *path,
-					u64 objectid, u64 offset, u64 bytenr)
+					u64 objectid, u64 offset, u64 bytenr,
+					bool strict)
 {
 	struct btrfs_fs_info *fs_info = root->fs_info;
 	struct btrfs_root *extent_root = fs_info->extent_root;
@@ -2348,9 +2349,13 @@ static noinline int check_committed_ref(struct btrfs_root *root,
 	    btrfs_extent_inline_ref_size(BTRFS_EXTENT_DATA_REF_KEY))
 		goto out;
 
-	/* If extent created before last snapshot => it's definitely shared */
-	if (btrfs_extent_generation(leaf, ei) <=
-	    btrfs_root_last_snapshot(&root->root_item))
+	/*
+	 * If extent created before last snapshot => it's shared unless the
+	 * snapshot has been deleted. Use the heuristic if strict is false.
+	 */
+	if (!strict &&
+	    (btrfs_extent_generation(leaf, ei) <=
+	     btrfs_root_last_snapshot(&root->root_item)))
 		goto out;
 
 	iref = (struct btrfs_extent_inline_ref *)(ei + 1);
@@ -2375,7 +2380,7 @@ out:
 }
 
 int btrfs_cross_ref_exist(struct btrfs_root *root, u64 objectid, u64 offset,
-			  u64 bytenr)
+			  u64 bytenr, bool strict)
 {
 	struct btrfs_path *path;
 	int ret;
@@ -2386,7 +2391,7 @@ int btrfs_cross_ref_exist(struct btrfs_root *root, u64 objectid, u64 offset,
 
 	do {
 		ret = check_committed_ref(root, path, objectid,
-					  offset, bytenr);
+					  offset, bytenr, strict);
 		if (ret && ret != -ENOENT)
 			goto out;
 
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/file.c b/fs/btrfs/file.c
index 841c516079a9..3abaff4d2cff 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/file.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/file.c
@@ -1571,7 +1571,7 @@ static int check_can_nocow(struct btrfs_inode *inode, loff_t pos,
 	}
 
 	ret = can_nocow_extent(&inode->vfs_inode, lockstart, &num_bytes,
-			NULL, NULL, NULL);
+			NULL, NULL, NULL, false);
 	if (ret <= 0) {
 		ret = 0;
 		if (!nowait)
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/inode.c b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
index 4ad0323b3684..46e04247193a 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
@@ -1609,7 +1609,7 @@ next_slot:
 				goto out_check;
 			ret = btrfs_cross_ref_exist(root, ino,
 						    found_key.offset -
-						    extent_offset, disk_bytenr);
+						    extent_offset, disk_bytenr, false);
 			if (ret) {
 				/*
 				 * ret could be -EIO if the above fails to read
@@ -6949,6 +6949,8 @@ static struct extent_map *btrfs_new_extent_direct(struct btrfs_inode *inode,
  * @orig_start:	(optional) Return the original file offset of the file extent
  * @orig_len:	(optional) Return the original on-disk length of the file extent
  * @ram_bytes:	(optional) Return the ram_bytes of the file extent
+ * @strict:	if true, omit optimizations that might force us into unnecessary
+ *		cow. e.g., don't trust generation number.
  *
  * This function will flush ordered extents in the range to ensure proper
  * nocow checks for (nowait == false) case.
@@ -6963,7 +6965,7 @@ static struct extent_map *btrfs_new_extent_direct(struct btrfs_inode *inode,
  */
 noinline int can_nocow_extent(struct inode *inode, u64 offset, u64 *len,
 			      u64 *orig_start, u64 *orig_block_len,
-			      u64 *ram_bytes)
+			      u64 *ram_bytes, bool strict)
 {
 	struct btrfs_fs_info *fs_info = btrfs_sb(inode->i_sb);
 	struct btrfs_path *path;
@@ -7041,8 +7043,9 @@ noinline int can_nocow_extent(struct inode *inode, u64 offset, u64 *len,
 	 * Do the same check as in btrfs_cross_ref_exist but without the
 	 * unnecessary search.
 	 */
-	if (btrfs_file_extent_generation(leaf, fi) <=
-	    btrfs_root_last_snapshot(&root->root_item))
+	if (!strict &&
+	    (btrfs_file_extent_generation(leaf, fi) <=
+	     btrfs_root_last_snapshot(&root->root_item)))
 		goto out;
 
 	backref_offset = btrfs_file_extent_offset(leaf, fi);
@@ -7078,7 +7081,8 @@ noinline int can_nocow_extent(struct inode *inode, u64 offset, u64 *len,
 	 */
 
 	ret = btrfs_cross_ref_exist(root, btrfs_ino(BTRFS_I(inode)),
-				    key.offset - backref_offset, disk_bytenr);
+				    key.offset - backref_offset, disk_bytenr,
+				    strict);
 	if (ret) {
 		ret = 0;
 		goto out;
@@ -7299,7 +7303,7 @@ static int btrfs_get_blocks_direct_write(struct extent_map **map,
 		block_start = em->block_start + (start - em->start);
 
 		if (can_nocow_extent(inode, start, &len, &orig_start,
-				     &orig_block_len, &ram_bytes) == 1 &&
+				     &orig_block_len, &ram_bytes, false) == 1 &&
 		    btrfs_inc_nocow_writers(fs_info, block_start)) {
 			struct extent_map *em2;
 
@@ -10130,7 +10134,7 @@ static int btrfs_swap_activate(struct swap_info_struct *sis, struct file *file,
 		free_extent_map(em);
 		em = NULL;
 
-		ret = can_nocow_extent(inode, start, &len, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+		ret = can_nocow_extent(inode, start, &len, NULL, NULL, NULL, true);
 		if (ret < 0) {
 			goto out;
 		} else if (ret) {