diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_nvm.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_nvm.c
index 800bd55d0159c083c3d2267c5eda0289b1d6435c..6fdecd70dcbcb1bb4a1a93a6db22288a46fc1d2f 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_nvm.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_nvm.c
@@ -134,8 +134,25 @@ i40e_status i40e_acquire_nvm(struct i40e_hw *hw,
  **/
 void i40e_release_nvm(struct i40e_hw *hw)
 {
-	if (!hw->nvm.blank_nvm_mode)
-		i40e_aq_release_resource(hw, I40E_NVM_RESOURCE_ID, 0, NULL);
+	i40e_status ret_code = I40E_SUCCESS;
+	u32 total_delay = 0;
+
+	if (hw->nvm.blank_nvm_mode)
+		return;
+
+	ret_code = i40e_aq_release_resource(hw, I40E_NVM_RESOURCE_ID, 0, NULL);
+
+	/* there are some rare cases when trying to release the resource
+	 * results in an admin Q timeout, so handle them correctly
+	 */
+	while ((ret_code == I40E_ERR_ADMIN_QUEUE_TIMEOUT) &&
+	       (total_delay < hw->aq.asq_cmd_timeout)) {
+		usleep_range(1000, 2000);
+		ret_code = i40e_aq_release_resource(hw,
+						    I40E_NVM_RESOURCE_ID,
+						    0, NULL);
+		total_delay++;
+	}
 }
 
 /**