diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx.c
index 5f064f185d55..7cf52fcdb307 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx.c
@@ -540,7 +540,6 @@ int efx_net_open(struct net_device *net_dev)
 	else
 		efx->state = STATE_NET_UP;
 
-	efx_selftest_async_start(efx);
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx_common.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx_common.c
index 1527678b241c..476ef1c97637 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx_common.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/sfc/efx_common.c
@@ -542,6 +542,8 @@ void efx_start_all(struct efx_nic *efx)
 	/* Start the hardware monitor if there is one */
 	efx_start_monitor(efx);
 
+	efx_selftest_async_start(efx);
+
 	/* Link state detection is normally event-driven; we have
 	 * to poll now because we could have missed a change
 	 */