diff --git a/drivers/mmc/core/mmc.c b/drivers/mmc/core/mmc.c
index f6912ded652d..de14b5845f52 100644
--- a/drivers/mmc/core/mmc.c
+++ b/drivers/mmc/core/mmc.c
@@ -1910,9 +1910,12 @@ static int mmc_sleep(struct mmc_host *host)
 	 * If the max_busy_timeout of the host is specified, validate it against
 	 * the sleep cmd timeout. A failure means we need to prevent the host
 	 * from doing hw busy detection, which is done by converting to a R1
-	 * response instead of a R1B.
+	 * response instead of a R1B. Note, some hosts requires R1B, which also
+	 * means they are on their own when it comes to deal with the busy
+	 * timeout.
 	 */
-	if (host->max_busy_timeout && (timeout_ms > host->max_busy_timeout)) {
+	if (!(host->caps & MMC_CAP_NEED_RSP_BUSY) && host->max_busy_timeout &&
+	    (timeout_ms > host->max_busy_timeout)) {
 		cmd.flags = MMC_RSP_R1 | MMC_CMD_AC;
 	} else {
 		cmd.flags = MMC_RSP_R1B | MMC_CMD_AC;