diff --git a/drivers/s390/net/qeth_l2_main.c b/drivers/s390/net/qeth_l2_main.c
index 444b025a866f..047fca27371f 100644
--- a/drivers/s390/net/qeth_l2_main.c
+++ b/drivers/s390/net/qeth_l2_main.c
@@ -1983,8 +1983,7 @@ int qeth_l2_vnicc_get_timeout(struct qeth_card *card, u32 *timeout)
 /* check if VNICC is currently enabled */
 bool qeth_l2_vnicc_is_in_use(struct qeth_card *card)
 {
-	/* if everything is turned off, VNICC is not active */
-	if (!card->options.vnicc.cur_chars)
+	if (!card->options.vnicc.sup_chars)
 		return false;
 	/* default values are only OK if rx_bcast was not enabled by user
 	 * or the card is offline.