diff --git a/block.c b/block.c
index d2dac3dce9..30d64e6ca5 100644
--- a/block.c
+++ b/block.c
@@ -2837,7 +2837,7 @@ bool bdrv_can_write_zeroes_with_unmap(BlockDriverState *bs)
 {
     BlockDriverInfo bdi;
 
-    if (bs->backing || !(bs->open_flags & BDRV_O_UNMAP)) {
+    if (!(bs->open_flags & BDRV_O_UNMAP)) {
         return false;
     }