diff --git a/drivers/rtc/rtc-twl.c b/drivers/rtc/rtc-twl.c
index c5d06fe83bba..9277d945bf48 100644
--- a/drivers/rtc/rtc-twl.c
+++ b/drivers/rtc/rtc-twl.c
@@ -495,6 +495,11 @@ static int __devinit twl_rtc_probe(struct platform_device *pdev)
 	if (ret < 0)
 		goto out1;
 
+	/* ensure interrupts are disabled, bootloaders can be strange */
+	ret = twl_rtc_write_u8(0, REG_RTC_INTERRUPTS_REG);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		dev_warn(&pdev->dev, "unable to disable interrupt\n");
+
 	/* init cached IRQ enable bits */
 	ret = twl_rtc_read_u8(&rtc_irq_bits, REG_RTC_INTERRUPTS_REG);
 	if (ret < 0)