diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-designware-core.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-designware-core.c
index 22e92c3d3d07448cea9aa37fcc4ad6c612570e13..3c20e4bd6dd1380238df20f06941828ec84aadd0 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-designware-core.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-designware-core.c
@@ -422,6 +422,9 @@ static void i2c_dw_xfer_init(struct dw_i2c_dev *dev)
 	 */
 	dw_writel(dev, msgs[dev->msg_write_idx].addr | ic_tar, DW_IC_TAR);
 
+	/* enforce disabled interrupts (due to HW issues) */
+	i2c_dw_disable_int(dev);
+
 	/* Enable the adapter */
 	__i2c_dw_enable(dev, true);