diff --git a/drivers/net/usb/dm9601.c b/drivers/net/usb/dm9601.c
index 48d7d278631e..9ed238e6ea51 100644
--- a/drivers/net/usb/dm9601.c
+++ b/drivers/net/usb/dm9601.c
@@ -222,13 +222,19 @@ static int dm9601_mdio_read(struct net_device *netdev, int phy_id, int loc)
 	struct usbnet *dev = netdev_priv(netdev);
 
 	__le16 res;
+	int err;
 
 	if (phy_id) {
 		netdev_dbg(dev->net, "Only internal phy supported\n");
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	dm_read_shared_word(dev, 1, loc, &res);
+	err = dm_read_shared_word(dev, 1, loc, &res);
+	if (err <= 0) {
+		if (err == 0)
+			err = -ENODATA;
+		return err;
+	}
 
 	netdev_dbg(dev->net,
 		   "dm9601_mdio_read() phy_id=0x%02x, loc=0x%02x, returns=0x%04x\n",