diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-rk3x.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-rk3x.c
index 58e7d0ef1e51..0b3adca2e2a4 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-rk3x.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-rk3x.c
@@ -519,8 +519,8 @@ static void rk3x_i2c_handle_read(struct rk3x_i2c *i2c, unsigned int ipd)
 	if (!(ipd & REG_INT_MBRF))
 		return;
 
-	/* ack interrupt */
-	i2c_writel(i2c, REG_INT_MBRF, REG_IPD);
+	/* ack interrupt (read also produces a spurious START flag, clear it too) */
+	i2c_writel(i2c, REG_INT_MBRF | REG_INT_START, REG_IPD);
 
 	/* read the data from receive buffer */
 	rk3x_i2c_read(i2c);