diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/altera/altera_tse_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/altera/altera_tse_main.c
index 8207877d6237..fe644823ceaf 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/altera/altera_tse_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/altera/altera_tse_main.c
@@ -1517,6 +1517,7 @@ static int altera_tse_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 	spin_lock_init(&priv->tx_lock);
 	spin_lock_init(&priv->rxdma_irq_lock);
 
+	netif_carrier_off(ndev);
 	ret = register_netdev(ndev);
 	if (ret) {
 		dev_err(&pdev->dev, "failed to register TSE net device\n");