diff --git a/drivers/nvme/host/core.c b/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
index d6fd44774e9f..11d343c420b6 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/host/core.c
@@ -2321,7 +2321,8 @@ static void nvme_set_latency_tolerance(struct device *dev, s32 val)
 
 	if (ctrl->ps_max_latency_us != latency) {
 		ctrl->ps_max_latency_us = latency;
-		nvme_configure_apst(ctrl);
+		if (ctrl->state == NVME_CTRL_LIVE)
+			nvme_configure_apst(ctrl);
 	}
 }