diff --git a/fs/btrfs/ctree.c b/fs/btrfs/ctree.c
index 141c15ca294eb66ae7753ed3c6dbe0e86be50a13..64b87894460bef323e342bdbbd42e4d76825f318 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/ctree.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/ctree.c
@@ -2464,7 +2464,13 @@ static int key_search(struct extent_buffer *b, struct btrfs_key *key,
 /* Proposed generic search function, meant to take the place of the
 * various small search helper functions throughout the code and standardize
 * the search interface. Right now, it only replaces the former __inode_info
-* in backref.c.
+* in backref.c, and the former btrfs_find_root_ref in root-tree.c.
+*
+* If a null key is passed, it returns immediately after running
+* btrfs_search_slot, leaving the path filled as it is and passing its
+* return value upward. If a real key is passed, it will set the caller's
+* path to point to the first item in the tree after its specified
+* objectid, type, and offset for which objectid and type match the input.
 */
 int btrfs_find_item(struct btrfs_root *fs_root, struct btrfs_path *path,
 		u64 iobjectid, u64 ioff, u8 key_type,
@@ -2479,7 +2485,7 @@ int btrfs_find_item(struct btrfs_root *fs_root, struct btrfs_path *path,
 	key.offset = ioff;
 
 	ret = btrfs_search_slot(NULL, fs_root, &key, path, 0, 0);
-	if (ret < 0)
+	if ((ret < 0) || (found_key == NULL))
 		return ret;
 
 	eb = path->nodes[0];
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/inode.c b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
index 41079c6ed968a2150b2b9f67396ad20238ad0823..5a5de36d39fcfda1aaa58cdb5d5a995bf971bedb 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/inode.c
@@ -4673,9 +4673,9 @@ static int fixup_tree_root_location(struct btrfs_root *root,
 	}
 
 	err = -ENOENT;
-	ret = btrfs_find_root_ref(root->fs_info->tree_root, path,
-				  BTRFS_I(dir)->root->root_key.objectid,
-				  location->objectid);
+	ret = btrfs_find_item(root->fs_info->tree_root, path,
+				BTRFS_I(dir)->root->root_key.objectid,
+				location->objectid, BTRFS_ROOT_REF_KEY, NULL);
 	if (ret) {
 		if (ret < 0)
 			err = ret;
diff --git a/fs/btrfs/root-tree.c b/fs/btrfs/root-tree.c
index ec71ea44d2b4626c9a2bcc73b5fb94af666eaf5b..fcc10ebb71a06361ee642c57632bd6dfb4046a00 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/root-tree.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/root-tree.c
@@ -400,21 +400,6 @@ int btrfs_del_root_ref(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
 	return err;
 }
 
-int btrfs_find_root_ref(struct btrfs_root *tree_root,
-		   struct btrfs_path *path,
-		   u64 root_id, u64 ref_id)
-{
-	struct btrfs_key key;
-	int ret;
-
-	key.objectid = root_id;
-	key.type = BTRFS_ROOT_REF_KEY;
-	key.offset = ref_id;
-
-	ret = btrfs_search_slot(NULL, tree_root, &key, path, 0, 0);
-	return ret;
-}
-
 /*
  * add a btrfs_root_ref item.  type is either BTRFS_ROOT_REF_KEY
  * or BTRFS_ROOT_BACKREF_KEY.