diff --git a/drivers/staging/wfx/hif_tx.c b/drivers/staging/wfx/hif_tx.c
index e61cc24867612ec81a7e3dda3f707364297aad78..63b437261eb727fcf6879d870e5c556a707e5fd1 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/wfx/hif_tx.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/wfx/hif_tx.c
@@ -308,11 +308,13 @@ int hif_join(struct wfx_vif *wvif, const struct ieee80211_bss_conf *conf,
 	WARN_ON(!conf->basic_rates);
 	WARN_ON(sizeof(body->ssid) < ssidlen);
 	WARN(!conf->ibss_joined && !ssidlen, "joining an unknown BSS");
+	if (WARN_ON(!channel))
+		return -EINVAL;
 	if (!hif)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 	body->infrastructure_bss_mode = !conf->ibss_joined;
 	body->short_preamble = conf->use_short_preamble;
-	if (channel && channel->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IR)
+	if (channel->flags & IEEE80211_CHAN_NO_IR)
 		body->probe_for_join = 0;
 	else
 		body->probe_for_join = 1;