diff --git a/hw/usb/dev-network.c b/hw/usb/dev-network.c
index 18669917f5..9be3a64006 100644
--- a/hw/usb/dev-network.c
+++ b/hw/usb/dev-network.c
@@ -1310,6 +1310,10 @@ static int usbnet_can_receive(NetClientState *nc)
 {
     USBNetState *s = qemu_get_nic_opaque(nc);
 
+    if (!s->dev.config) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     if (is_rndis(s) && s->rndis_state != RNDIS_DATA_INITIALIZED) {
         return 1;
     }