diff --git a/drivers/tty/serial/atmel_serial.c b/drivers/tty/serial/atmel_serial.c
index 1c0884d8ef32..a429cfef0286 100644
--- a/drivers/tty/serial/atmel_serial.c
+++ b/drivers/tty/serial/atmel_serial.c
@@ -159,8 +159,8 @@ struct atmel_uart_port {
 	u32			rts_high;
 	u32			rts_low;
 	bool			ms_irq_enabled;
-	bool			is_usart;	/* usart or uart */
-	struct timer_list	uart_timer;	/* uart timer */
+	bool			has_hw_timer;
+	struct timer_list	uart_timer;
 
 	bool			suspended;
 	unsigned int		pending;
@@ -1710,19 +1710,19 @@ static void atmel_get_ip_name(struct uart_port *port)
 	struct atmel_uart_port *atmel_port = to_atmel_uart_port(port);
 	int name = atmel_uart_readl(port, ATMEL_US_NAME);
 	u32 version;
-	int usart, uart;
-	/* usart and uart ascii */
-	usart = 0x55534152;
-	uart = 0x44424755;
+	u32 usart, dbgu_uart;
+	/* ASCII decoding for IP version */
+	usart = 0x55534152;	/* USAR(T) */
+	dbgu_uart = 0x44424755;	/* DBGU */
 
-	atmel_port->is_usart = false;
+	atmel_port->has_hw_timer = false;
 
 	if (name == usart) {
-		dev_dbg(port->dev, "This is usart\n");
-		atmel_port->is_usart = true;
-	} else if (name == uart) {
-		dev_dbg(port->dev, "This is uart\n");
-		atmel_port->is_usart = false;
+		dev_dbg(port->dev, "Usart with hw timer\n");
+		atmel_port->has_hw_timer = true;
+	} else if (name == dbgu_uart) {
+		dev_dbg(port->dev, "Dbgu or uart without hw timer\n");
+		atmel_port->has_hw_timer = false;
 	} else {
 		/* fallback for older SoCs: use version field */
 		version = atmel_uart_readl(port, ATMEL_US_VERSION);
@@ -1730,12 +1730,12 @@ static void atmel_get_ip_name(struct uart_port *port)
 		case 0x302:
 		case 0x10213:
 			dev_dbg(port->dev, "This version is usart\n");
-			atmel_port->is_usart = true;
+			atmel_port->has_hw_timer = true;
 			break;
 		case 0x203:
 		case 0x10202:
 			dev_dbg(port->dev, "This version is uart\n");
-			atmel_port->is_usart = false;
+			atmel_port->has_hw_timer = false;
 			break;
 		default:
 			dev_err(port->dev, "Not supported ip name nor version, set to uart\n");
@@ -1835,7 +1835,7 @@ static int atmel_startup(struct uart_port *port)
 
 	if (atmel_use_pdc_rx(port)) {
 		/* set UART timeout */
-		if (!atmel_port->is_usart) {
+		if (!atmel_port->has_hw_timer) {
 			mod_timer(&atmel_port->uart_timer,
 					jiffies + uart_poll_timeout(port));
 		/* set USART timeout */
@@ -1850,7 +1850,7 @@ static int atmel_startup(struct uart_port *port)
 		atmel_uart_writel(port, ATMEL_PDC_PTCR, ATMEL_PDC_RXTEN);
 	} else if (atmel_use_dma_rx(port)) {
 		/* set UART timeout */
-		if (!atmel_port->is_usart) {
+		if (!atmel_port->has_hw_timer) {
 			mod_timer(&atmel_port->uart_timer,
 					jiffies + uart_poll_timeout(port));
 		/* set USART timeout */