diff --git a/chardev/char-socket.c b/chardev/char-socket.c
index d619088232..3ddd98ed49 100644
--- a/chardev/char-socket.c
+++ b/chardev/char-socket.c
@@ -290,13 +290,6 @@ static ssize_t tcp_chr_recv(Chardev *chr, char *buf, size_t len)
                                      NULL);
     }
 
-    if (ret == QIO_CHANNEL_ERR_BLOCK) {
-        errno = EAGAIN;
-        ret = -1;
-    } else if (ret == -1) {
-        errno = EIO;
-    }
-
     if (msgfds_num) {
         /* close and clean read_msgfds */
         for (i = 0; i < s->read_msgfds_num; i++) {
@@ -325,6 +318,13 @@ static ssize_t tcp_chr_recv(Chardev *chr, char *buf, size_t len)
 #endif
     }
 
+    if (ret == QIO_CHANNEL_ERR_BLOCK) {
+        errno = EAGAIN;
+        ret = -1;
+    } else if (ret == -1) {
+        errno = EIO;
+    }
+
     return ret;
 }