diff --git a/drivers/thunderbolt/retimer.c b/drivers/thunderbolt/retimer.c
index 2ee8c5ebca7c..43146c0685df 100644
--- a/drivers/thunderbolt/retimer.c
+++ b/drivers/thunderbolt/retimer.c
@@ -89,9 +89,11 @@ static int tb_retimer_nvm_add(struct tb_retimer *rt)
 	if (ret)
 		goto err_nvm;
 
-	ret = tb_nvm_add_non_active(nvm, nvm_write);
-	if (ret)
-		goto err_nvm;
+	if (!rt->no_nvm_upgrade) {
+		ret = tb_nvm_add_non_active(nvm, nvm_write);
+		if (ret)
+			goto err_nvm;
+	}
 
 	rt->nvm = nvm;
 	return 0;