diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/freescale/ucc_geth_ethtool.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/freescale/ucc_geth_ethtool.c
index 0beee2cc2ddd31..722b6de2481643 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/freescale/ucc_geth_ethtool.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/freescale/ucc_geth_ethtool.c
@@ -252,14 +252,12 @@ uec_set_ringparam(struct net_device *netdev,
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
+	if (netif_running(netdev))
+		return -EBUSY;
+
 	ug_info->bdRingLenRx[queue] = ring->rx_pending;
 	ug_info->bdRingLenTx[queue] = ring->tx_pending;
 
-	if (netif_running(netdev)) {
-		/* FIXME: restart automatically */
-		netdev_info(netdev, "Please re-open the interface\n");
-	}
-
 	return ret;
 }