diff --git a/drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c b/drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c
index d51f9795c064..927f968e99d9 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/libata-scsi.c
@@ -3797,6 +3797,12 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ata_sas_port_alloc);
  */
 int ata_sas_port_start(struct ata_port *ap)
 {
+	/*
+	 * the port is marked as frozen at allocation time, but if we don't
+	 * have new eh, we won't thaw it
+	 */
+	if (!ap->ops->error_handler)
+		ap->pflags &= ~ATA_PFLAG_FROZEN;
 	return 0;
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ata_sas_port_start);