diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
index 0093fc56ab3a..21b7d044797e 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c
@@ -5994,9 +5994,9 @@ static __init int rb_write_something(struct rb_test_data *data, bool nested)
 		/* Ignore dropped events before test starts. */
 		if (started) {
 			if (nested)
-				data->bytes_dropped += len;
-			else
 				data->bytes_dropped_nested += len;
+			else
+				data->bytes_dropped += len;
 		}
 		return len;
 	}