diff --git a/drivers/i2c/chips/eeprom.c b/drivers/i2c/chips/eeprom.c
index 6ea413f6d5e5..a2da31b0dd7b 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/chips/eeprom.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/chips/eeprom.c
@@ -163,6 +163,11 @@ int eeprom_detect(struct i2c_adapter *adapter, int address, int kind)
 	struct eeprom_data *data;
 	int err = 0;
 
+	/* prevent 24RF08 corruption */
+	if (kind < 0)
+		i2c_smbus_xfer(adapter, address, 0, 0, 0,
+			       I2C_SMBUS_QUICK, NULL);
+
 	/* There are three ways we can read the EEPROM data:
 	   (1) I2C block reads (faster, but unsupported by most adapters)
 	   (2) Consecutive byte reads (100% overhead)
@@ -187,9 +192,6 @@ int eeprom_detect(struct i2c_adapter *adapter, int address, int kind)
 	new_client->driver = &eeprom_driver;
 	new_client->flags = 0;
 
-	/* prevent 24RF08 corruption */
-	i2c_smbus_write_quick(new_client, 0);
-
 	/* Fill in the remaining client fields */
 	strlcpy(new_client->name, "eeprom", I2C_NAME_SIZE);
 	data->valid = 0;
diff --git a/drivers/i2c/chips/max6875.c b/drivers/i2c/chips/max6875.c
index c4f14d9623c4..0230375f72e5 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/chips/max6875.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/chips/max6875.c
@@ -343,6 +343,11 @@ static int max6875_detect(struct i2c_adapter *adapter, int address, int kind)
 	struct max6875_data *data;
 	int err = 0;
 
+	/* Prevent 24RF08 corruption (in case of user error) */
+	if (kind < 0)
+		i2c_smbus_xfer(adapter, address, 0, 0, 0,
+			       I2C_SMBUS_QUICK, NULL);
+
 	/* There are three ways we can read the EEPROM data:
 	   (1) I2C block reads (faster, but unsupported by most adapters)
 	   (2) Consecutive byte reads (100% overhead)
@@ -370,9 +375,6 @@ static int max6875_detect(struct i2c_adapter *adapter, int address, int kind)
 	new_client->driver = &max6875_driver;
 	new_client->flags = 0;
 
-	/* Prevent 24RF08 corruption */
-	i2c_smbus_write_quick(new_client, 0);
-
 	/* Setup the user section */
 	data->blocks[max6875_eeprom_user].type    = max6875_eeprom_user;
 	data->blocks[max6875_eeprom_user].slices  = USER_EEPROM_SLICES;