diff --git a/drivers/staging/dgnc/dgnc_tty.c b/drivers/staging/dgnc/dgnc_tty.c
index 8445f84ddaa3..f1c4d07a0aaa 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/dgnc/dgnc_tty.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/dgnc/dgnc_tty.c
@@ -656,9 +656,9 @@ void dgnc_input(struct channel_t *ch)
 	return;
 
 exit_unlock:
+	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&ch->ch_lock, flags);
 	if (ld)
 		tty_ldisc_deref(ld);
-	spin_unlock_irqrestore(&ch->ch_lock, flags);
 }