diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00.h b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00.h
index 08095bf3f8f161af8da137e0f6d1b5fa19748ba2..5e4f783345a21f9ed736db1aa88b3dd53076ae11 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00.h
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00.h
@@ -636,7 +636,6 @@ enum rt2x00_flags {
 	DEVICE_STATE_STARTED_SUSPEND,
 	DEVICE_STATE_ENABLED_RADIO,
 	DEVICE_STATE_DISABLED_RADIO_HW,
-	DEVICE_STATE_DIRTY_CONFIG,
 
 	/*
 	 * Driver requirements
diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00dev.c b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00dev.c
index 330ab77902f740a8d99972d611f61709771a3718..5278ae2e374ceab2c6d40f50ebaf6f06b9e591bf 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00dev.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00dev.c
@@ -1014,21 +1014,11 @@ int rt2x00lib_start(struct rt2x00_dev *rt2x00dev)
 	if (retval)
 		return retval;
 
-	/*
-	 * Enable radio.
-	 */
-	retval = rt2x00lib_enable_radio(rt2x00dev);
-	if (retval) {
-		rt2x00lib_uninitialize(rt2x00dev);
-		return retval;
-	}
-
 	rt2x00dev->intf_ap_count = 0;
 	rt2x00dev->intf_sta_count = 0;
 	rt2x00dev->intf_associated = 0;
 
 	set_bit(DEVICE_STATE_STARTED, &rt2x00dev->flags);
-	set_bit(DEVICE_STATE_DIRTY_CONFIG, &rt2x00dev->flags);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00mac.c b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00mac.c
index 11be8957b5c210f0f48399f22d2bf9fefb1ef22a..64292c227c9666afd10bcdd6e816040aa7980f8a 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00mac.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00/rt2x00mac.c
@@ -338,7 +338,8 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(rt2x00mac_remove_interface);
 int rt2x00mac_config(struct ieee80211_hw *hw, struct ieee80211_conf *conf)
 {
 	struct rt2x00_dev *rt2x00dev = hw->priv;
-	int force_reconfig;
+	int radio_on;
+	int status;
 
 	/*
 	 * Mac80211 might be calling this function while we are trying
@@ -348,35 +349,34 @@ int rt2x00mac_config(struct ieee80211_hw *hw, struct ieee80211_conf *conf)
 		return 0;
 
 	/*
-	 * Check if we need to disable the radio,
-	 * if this is not the case, at least the RX must be disabled.
+	 * Only change device state when the radio is enabled. It does not
+	 * matter what parameters we have configured when the radio is disabled
+	 * because we won't be able to send or receive anyway. Also note that
+	 * some configuration parameters (e.g. channel and antenna values) can
+	 * only be set when the radio is enabled.
 	 */
-	if (test_bit(DEVICE_STATE_ENABLED_RADIO, &rt2x00dev->flags)) {
-		if (!conf->radio_enabled)
-			rt2x00lib_disable_radio(rt2x00dev);
-		else
-			rt2x00lib_toggle_rx(rt2x00dev, STATE_RADIO_RX_OFF);
-	}
+	radio_on = test_bit(DEVICE_STATE_ENABLED_RADIO, &rt2x00dev->flags);
+	if (conf->radio_enabled) {
+		/* For programming the values, we have to turn RX off */
+		rt2x00lib_toggle_rx(rt2x00dev, STATE_RADIO_RX_OFF);
 
-	/*
-	 * When the DEVICE_DIRTY_CONFIG flag is set, the device has recently
-	 * been started and the configuration must be forced upon the hardware.
-	 * Otherwise registers will not be intialized correctly and could
-	 * result in non-working hardware because essential registers aren't
-	 * initialized.
-	 */
-	force_reconfig =
-	    test_and_clear_bit(DEVICE_STATE_DIRTY_CONFIG, &rt2x00dev->flags);
+		/* Enable the radio */
+		status = rt2x00lib_enable_radio(rt2x00dev);
+		if (unlikely(status))
+			return status;
 
-	rt2x00lib_config(rt2x00dev, conf, force_reconfig);
+		/*
+		 * When we've just turned on the radio, we want to reprogram
+		 * everything to ensure a consistent state
+		 */
+		rt2x00lib_config(rt2x00dev, conf, !radio_on);
 
-	/*
-	 * Reenable RX only if the radio should be on.
-	 */
-	if (test_bit(DEVICE_STATE_ENABLED_RADIO, &rt2x00dev->flags))
+		/* Turn RX back on */
 		rt2x00lib_toggle_rx(rt2x00dev, STATE_RADIO_RX_ON);
-	else if (conf->radio_enabled)
-		return rt2x00lib_enable_radio(rt2x00dev);
+	} else {
+		/* Disable the radio */
+		rt2x00lib_disable_radio(rt2x00dev);
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }