diff --git a/sys/dev/i2c/ihidev.c b/sys/dev/i2c/ihidev.c
index c4f25dc61ce..39680c727d5 100644
--- a/sys/dev/i2c/ihidev.c
+++ b/sys/dev/i2c/ihidev.c
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* $OpenBSD: ihidev.c,v 1.44 2026/06/01 18:04:05 mglocker Exp $ */
+/* $OpenBSD: ihidev.c,v 1.45 2026/06/07 16:29:28 deraadt Exp $ */
 /*
  * HID-over-i2c driver
  *
@@ -273,6 +273,9 @@ ihidev_activate(struct device *self, int act)
 
 	DPRINTF(("%s(%d)\n", __func__, act));
 
+	if (sc->sc_nrepid <= 0)
+		return (0);
+
 	switch (act) {
 	case DVACT_QUIESCE:
 		rv = config_activate_children(self, act);