diff --git a/clientv3/kv.go b/clientv3/kv.go
index 26197a8ed..4c7449088 100644
--- a/clientv3/kv.go
+++ b/clientv3/kv.go
@@ -111,8 +111,8 @@ func (kv *kv) Delete(ctx context.Context, key string, opts ...OpOption) (*Delete
 }
 
 func (kv *kv) Compact(ctx context.Context, rev int64) error {
-	r := &pb.CompactionRequest{Revision: rev}
-	_, err := kv.getRemote().Compact(ctx, r)
+	remote := kv.getRemote()
+	_, err := remote.Compact(ctx, &pb.CompactionRequest{Revision: rev})
 	if err == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ func (kv *kv) Compact(ctx context.Context, rev int64) error {
 		return rpctypes.Error(err)
 	}
 
-	go kv.switchRemote(err)
+	go kv.switchRemote(remote, err)
 	return rpctypes.Error(err)
 }
 
@@ -135,6 +135,7 @@ func (kv *kv) Txn(ctx context.Context) Txn {
 func (kv *kv) Do(ctx context.Context, op Op) (OpResponse, error) {
 	for {
 		var err error
+		remote := kv.getRemote()
 		switch op.t {
 		// TODO: handle other ops
 		case tRange:
@@ -145,21 +146,21 @@ func (kv *kv) Do(ctx context.Context, op Op) (OpResponse, error) {
 				r.SortTarget = pb.RangeRequest_SortTarget(op.sort.Target)
 			}
 
-			resp, err = kv.getRemote().Range(ctx, r)
+			resp, err = remote.Range(ctx, r)
 			if err == nil {
 				return OpResponse{get: (*GetResponse)(resp)}, nil
 			}
 		case tPut:
 			var resp *pb.PutResponse
 			r := &pb.PutRequest{Key: op.key, Value: op.val, Lease: int64(op.leaseID)}
-			resp, err = kv.getRemote().Put(ctx, r)
+			resp, err = remote.Put(ctx, r)
 			if err == nil {
 				return OpResponse{put: (*PutResponse)(resp)}, nil
 			}
 		case tDeleteRange:
 			var resp *pb.DeleteRangeResponse
 			r := &pb.DeleteRangeRequest{Key: op.key, RangeEnd: op.end}
-			resp, err = kv.getRemote().DeleteRange(ctx, r)
+			resp, err = remote.DeleteRange(ctx, r)
 			if err == nil {
 				return OpResponse{del: (*DeleteResponse)(resp)}, nil
 			}
@@ -173,32 +174,32 @@ func (kv *kv) Do(ctx context.Context, op Op) (OpResponse, error) {
 
 		// do not retry on modifications
 		if op.isWrite() {
-			go kv.switchRemote(err)
+			go kv.switchRemote(remote, err)
 			return OpResponse{}, rpctypes.Error(err)
 		}
 
-		if nerr := kv.switchRemote(err); nerr != nil {
+		if nerr := kv.switchRemote(remote, err); nerr != nil {
 			return OpResponse{}, nerr
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-func (kv *kv) switchRemote(prevErr error) error {
-	// Usually it's a bad idea to lock on network i/o but here it's OK
-	// since the link is down and new requests can't be processed anyway.
-	// Likewise, if connecting stalls, closing the Client can break the
-	// lock via context cancelation.
+func (kv *kv) switchRemote(remote pb.KVClient, prevErr error) error {
+	kv.mu.Lock()
+	oldRemote := kv.remote
+	conn := kv.conn
+	kv.mu.Unlock()
+	if remote != oldRemote {
+		return nil
+	}
+	newConn, err := kv.c.retryConnection(conn, prevErr)
 	kv.mu.Lock()
 	defer kv.mu.Unlock()
-
-	newConn, err := kv.c.retryConnection(kv.conn, prevErr)
-	if err != nil {
-		return rpctypes.Error(err)
+	if err == nil {
+		kv.conn = newConn
+		kv.remote = pb.NewKVClient(kv.conn)
 	}
-
-	kv.conn = newConn
-	kv.remote = pb.NewKVClient(kv.conn)
-	return nil
+	return rpctypes.Error(err)
 }
 
 func (kv *kv) getRemote() pb.KVClient {
diff --git a/clientv3/txn.go b/clientv3/txn.go
index 84ec4464e..875a325a0 100644
--- a/clientv3/txn.go
+++ b/clientv3/txn.go
@@ -141,8 +141,9 @@ func (txn *txn) Commit() (*TxnResponse, error) {
 	kv := txn.kv
 
 	for {
+		remote := kv.getRemote()
 		r := &pb.TxnRequest{Compare: txn.cmps, Success: txn.sus, Failure: txn.fas}
-		resp, err := kv.getRemote().Txn(txn.ctx, r)
+		resp, err := remote.Txn(txn.ctx, r)
 		if err == nil {
 			return (*TxnResponse)(resp), nil
 		}
@@ -152,11 +153,11 @@ func (txn *txn) Commit() (*TxnResponse, error) {
 		}
 
 		if txn.isWrite {
-			go kv.switchRemote(err)
+			go kv.switchRemote(remote, err)
 			return nil, rpctypes.Error(err)
 		}
 
-		if nerr := kv.switchRemote(err); nerr != nil {
+		if nerr := kv.switchRemote(remote, err); nerr != nil {
 			return nil, nerr
 		}
 	}