diff --git a/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_common.c b/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_common.c
index 060f9b176929..c387be5c926b 100644
--- a/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_common.c
+++ b/drivers/net/dsa/b53/b53_common.c
@@ -1175,6 +1175,8 @@ static int b53_arl_op(struct b53_device *dev, int op, int port,
 		return ret;
 
 	switch (ret) {
+	case -ETIMEDOUT:
+		return ret;
 	case -ENOSPC:
 		dev_dbg(dev->dev, "{%pM,%.4d} no space left in ARL\n",
 			addr, vid);