diff --git a/drivers/iio/industrialio-event.c b/drivers/iio/industrialio-event.c
index ea6e06b9c7d4..11dd986e5fa0 100644
--- a/drivers/iio/industrialio-event.c
+++ b/drivers/iio/industrialio-event.c
@@ -341,6 +341,9 @@ static int iio_device_add_event(struct iio_dev *indio_dev,
 			&indio_dev->event_interface->dev_attr_list);
 		kfree(postfix);
 
+		if ((ret == -EBUSY) && (shared_by != IIO_SEPARATE))
+			continue;
+
 		if (ret)
 			return ret;