diff --git a/net/bluetooth/mgmt.c b/net/bluetooth/mgmt.c
index e33b12e09270..af077abdfa98 100644
--- a/net/bluetooth/mgmt.c
+++ b/net/bluetooth/mgmt.c
@@ -1619,6 +1619,11 @@ static int start_discovery(struct sock *sk, u16 index)
 
 	hci_dev_lock_bh(hdev);
 
+	if (!test_bit(HCI_UP, &hdev->flags)) {
+		err = cmd_status(sk, index, MGMT_OP_START_DISCOVERY, ENETDOWN);
+		goto failed;
+	}
+
 	cmd = mgmt_pending_add(sk, MGMT_OP_START_DISCOVERY, index, NULL, 0);
 	if (!cmd) {
 		err = -ENOMEM;