diff --git a/drivers/bluetooth/btnxpuart.c b/drivers/bluetooth/btnxpuart.c
index 84a1ad61c4ad..56b875a6b1fb 100644
--- a/drivers/bluetooth/btnxpuart.c
+++ b/drivers/bluetooth/btnxpuart.c
@@ -612,8 +612,10 @@ static int nxp_download_firmware(struct hci_dev *hdev)
 							 &nxpdev->tx_state),
 					       msecs_to_jiffies(60000));
 
-	release_firmware(nxpdev->fw);
-	memset(nxpdev->fw_name, 0, sizeof(nxpdev->fw_name));
+	if (nxpdev->fw && strlen(nxpdev->fw_name)) {
+		release_firmware(nxpdev->fw);
+		memset(nxpdev->fw_name, 0, sizeof(nxpdev->fw_name));
+	}
 
 	if (err == 0) {
 		bt_dev_err(hdev, "FW Download Timeout. offset: %d",