diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
index c801b128e5b2..b07d55c99317 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
@@ -1908,11 +1908,15 @@ static void i40e_vsi_setup_queue_map(struct i40e_vsi *vsi,
 		 * non-zero req_queue_pairs says that user requested a new
 		 * queue count via ethtool's set_channels, so use this
 		 * value for queues distribution across traffic classes
+		 * We need at least one queue pair for the interface
+		 * to be usable as we see in else statement.
 		 */
 		if (vsi->req_queue_pairs > 0)
 			vsi->num_queue_pairs = vsi->req_queue_pairs;
 		else if (pf->flags & I40E_FLAG_MSIX_ENABLED)
 			vsi->num_queue_pairs = pf->num_lan_msix;
+		else
+			vsi->num_queue_pairs = 1;
 	}
 
 	/* Number of queues per enabled TC */