diff --git a/drivers/ata/libata-core.c b/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
index 06b7e49e039c..1e5d0a36a0a4 100644
--- a/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
+++ b/drivers/ata/libata-core.c
@@ -4119,9 +4119,8 @@ int ata_dev_revalidate(struct ata_device *dev, unsigned int new_class,
 	    dev->n_sectors > n_sectors && dev->n_sectors == n_native_sectors) {
 		ata_dev_printk(dev, KERN_WARNING,
 			       "new n_sectors matches native, probably "
-			       "late HPA unlock, continuing\n");
-		/* keep using the old n_sectors */
-		dev->n_sectors = n_sectors;
+			       "late HPA unlock, n_sectors updated\n");
+		/* use the larger n_sectors */
 		return 0;
 	}