diff --git a/dma.c b/dma.c
index 28e6943e..511fe7e6 100644
--- a/dma.c
+++ b/dma.c
@@ -739,16 +739,18 @@ mt76_dma_rx_cleanup(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct mt76_queue *q)
 	if (!q->ndesc)
 		return;
 
-	spin_lock_bh(&q->lock);
-
 	do {
+		spin_lock_bh(&q->lock);
 		buf = mt76_dma_dequeue(dev, q, true, NULL, NULL, &more, NULL);
+		spin_unlock_bh(&q->lock);
+
 		if (!buf)
 			break;
 
 		mt76_put_page_pool_buf(buf, false);
 	} while (1);
 
+	spin_lock_bh(&q->lock);
 	if (q->rx_head) {
 		dev_kfree_skb(q->rx_head);
 		q->rx_head = NULL;