diff --git a/tx.c b/tx.c
index bc4a1574..d1cea40d 100644
--- a/tx.c
+++ b/tx.c
@@ -478,9 +478,8 @@ void mt76_txq_remove(struct mt76_dev *dev, struct ieee80211_txq *txq)
 	spin_lock_bh(&hwq->lock);
 	if (!list_empty(&mtxq->list))
 		list_del(&mtxq->list);
+	spin_unlock_bh(&hwq->lock);
 
 	while ((skb = skb_dequeue(&mtxq->retry_q)) != NULL)
 		ieee80211_free_txskb(dev->hw, skb);
-
-	spin_unlock_bh(&hwq->lock);
 }