diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/eswitch_offloads.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/eswitch_offloads.c
index 7a9ee36b8dca..01f6aecc4fcc 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/eswitch_offloads.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/eswitch_offloads.c
@@ -3761,6 +3761,8 @@ int esw_offloads_enable(struct mlx5_eswitch *esw)
 	return 0;
 
 err_vports:
+	/* rollback to legacy, indicates don't unregister the uplink netdev */
+	esw->dev->priv.flags |= MLX5_PRIV_FLAGS_SWITCH_LEGACY;
 	mlx5_esw_offloads_rep_unload(esw, MLX5_VPORT_UPLINK);
 err_uplink:
 	esw_offloads_steering_cleanup(esw);