diff --git a/drivers/staging/greybus/Documentation/sysfs-bus-greybus b/drivers/staging/greybus/Documentation/sysfs-bus-greybus
index b2e699ccdcd5..22a0c7f5a9b3 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/greybus/Documentation/sysfs-bus-greybus
+++ b/drivers/staging/greybus/Documentation/sysfs-bus-greybus
@@ -155,40 +155,3 @@ Description:
 		process watching the file will be woken up, and the new
 		value can be read. It's a "poor-man's IPC", yes, but
 		simplifies the Android userspace code immensely.
-
-What:		/sys/bus/greybus/device/endoE:M:I:B:C
-Date:		October 2015
-KernelVersion:	4.XX
-Contact:	Greg Kroah-Hartman <greg@kroah.com>
-Description:
-		A cport C within bundle B, C is replaced by a 2-byte
-		number representing the cport.
-
-What:		/sys/bus/greybus/device/endoE:M:I:B:C/ap_cport_id
-Date:		October 2015
-KernelVersion:	4.XX
-Contact:	Greg Kroah-Hartman <greg@kroah.com>
-Description:
-		The cport ID of the AP, to which cport of the module is
-		connected.
-
-What:		/sys/bus/greybus/device/endoE:M:I:B:C/protocol_id
-Date:		October 2015
-KernelVersion:	4.XX
-Contact:	Greg Kroah-Hartman <greg@kroah.com>
-Description:
-		The protocol ID of a Greybus cport.
-
-What:		/sys/bus/greybus/device/endoE:M:I:B:C/state
-Date:		October 2015
-KernelVersion:	4.XX
-Contact:	Greg Kroah-Hartman <greg@kroah.com>
-Description:
-		The current state of a Greybus connection.
-
-		It will be one of the following values:
-		0 - invalid
-		1 - disabled
-		2 - enabled
-		3 - error
-		4 - destroying
diff --git a/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.c b/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.c
index 3b731dab81f0..abd857703917 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.c
@@ -67,63 +67,18 @@ void greybus_data_rcvd(struct greybus_host_device *hd, u16 cport_id,
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(greybus_data_rcvd);
 
-static ssize_t state_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
-			  char *buf)
+static DEFINE_MUTEX(connection_mutex);
+
+static void gb_connection_kref_release(struct kref *kref)
 {
-	struct gb_connection *connection = to_gb_connection(dev);
-	enum gb_connection_state state;
-
-	spin_lock_irq(&connection->lock);
-	state = connection->state;
-	spin_unlock_irq(&connection->lock);
-
-	return sprintf(buf, "%d\n", state);
-}
-static DEVICE_ATTR_RO(state);
-
-static ssize_t
-protocol_id_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr, char *buf)
-{
-	struct gb_connection *connection = to_gb_connection(dev);
-
-	if (connection->protocol)
-		return sprintf(buf, "%d\n", connection->protocol->id);
-	else
-		return -EINVAL;
-}
-static DEVICE_ATTR_RO(protocol_id);
-
-static ssize_t
-ap_cport_id_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr, char *buf)
-{
-	struct gb_connection *connection = to_gb_connection(dev);
-	return sprintf(buf, "%hu\n", connection->hd_cport_id);
-}
-static DEVICE_ATTR_RO(ap_cport_id);
-
-static struct attribute *connection_attrs[] = {
-	&dev_attr_state.attr,
-	&dev_attr_protocol_id.attr,
-	&dev_attr_ap_cport_id.attr,
-	NULL,
-};
-
-ATTRIBUTE_GROUPS(connection);
-
-static void gb_connection_release(struct device *dev)
-{
-	struct gb_connection *connection = to_gb_connection(dev);
+	struct gb_connection *connection;
 
+	connection = container_of(kref, struct gb_connection, kref);
 	destroy_workqueue(connection->wq);
 	kfree(connection);
+	mutex_unlock(&connection_mutex);
 }
 
-struct device_type greybus_connection_type = {
-	.name =		"greybus_connection",
-	.release =	gb_connection_release,
-};
-
-
 int svc_update_connection(struct gb_interface *intf,
 			  struct gb_connection *connection)
 {
@@ -133,13 +88,7 @@ int svc_update_connection(struct gb_interface *intf,
 	if (!bundle)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
-	device_del(&connection->dev);
 	connection->bundle = bundle;
-	connection->dev.parent = &bundle->dev;
-	dev_set_name(&connection->dev, "%s:%d", dev_name(&bundle->dev),
-		     GB_SVC_CPORT_ID);
-
-	WARN_ON(device_add(&connection->dev));
 
 	spin_lock_irq(&gb_connections_lock);
 	list_add(&connection->bundle_links, &bundle->connections);
@@ -210,24 +159,7 @@ gb_connection_create_range(struct greybus_host_device *hd,
 	if (!connection->wq)
 		goto err_free_connection;
 
-	connection->dev.parent = parent;
-	connection->dev.bus = &greybus_bus_type;
-	connection->dev.type = &greybus_connection_type;
-	connection->dev.groups = connection_groups;
-	device_initialize(&connection->dev);
-	dev_set_name(&connection->dev, "%s:%d",
-		     dev_name(parent), cport_id);
-
-	retval = device_add(&connection->dev);
-	if (retval) {
-		connection->hd_cport_id = CPORT_ID_BAD;
-		put_device(&connection->dev);
-
-		dev_err(parent, "failed to register connection to cport %04hx: %d\n",
-				cport_id, retval);
-
-		goto err_remove_ida;
-	}
+	kref_init(&connection->kref);
 
 	spin_lock_irq(&gb_connections_lock);
 	list_add(&connection->hd_links, &hd->connections);
@@ -524,7 +456,8 @@ void gb_connection_destroy(struct gb_connection *connection)
 	ida_simple_remove(id_map, connection->hd_cport_id);
 	connection->hd_cport_id = CPORT_ID_BAD;
 
-	device_unregister(&connection->dev);
+	kref_put_mutex(&connection->kref, gb_connection_kref_release,
+		       &connection_mutex);
 }
 
 void gb_connection_latency_tag_enable(struct gb_connection *connection)
diff --git a/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.h b/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.h
index 2eaf186ab60e..af425a2dc5d2 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.h
+++ b/drivers/staging/greybus/connection.h
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ enum gb_connection_state {
 struct gb_connection {
 	struct greybus_host_device	*hd;
 	struct gb_bundle		*bundle;
-	struct device			dev;
+	struct kref			kref;
 	u16				hd_cport_id;
 	u16				intf_cport_id;
 
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ struct gb_connection {
 
 	void				*private;
 };
-#define to_gb_connection(d) container_of(d, struct gb_connection, dev)
 
 int svc_update_connection(struct gb_interface *intf,
 			  struct gb_connection *connection);