diff --git a/drivers/phy/freescale/phy-fsl-imx8qm-hsio.c b/drivers/phy/freescale/phy-fsl-imx8qm-hsio.c
index 977d21d753a5..279b8ac7822d 100644
--- a/drivers/phy/freescale/phy-fsl-imx8qm-hsio.c
+++ b/drivers/phy/freescale/phy-fsl-imx8qm-hsio.c
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ static void imx_hsio_configure_clk_pad(struct phy *phy)
 	struct imx_hsio_lane *lane = phy_get_drvdata(phy);
 	struct imx_hsio_priv *priv = lane->priv;
 
-	if (strncmp(priv->refclk_pad, "output", 6) == 0) {
+	if (priv->refclk_pad && strncmp(priv->refclk_pad, "output", 6) == 0) {
 		pll = true;
 		regmap_update_bits(priv->misc, HSIO_CTRL0,
 				   HSIO_IOB_A_0_TXOE | HSIO_IOB_A_0_M1M0_MASK,