diff --git a/drivers/iio/industrialio-core.c b/drivers/iio/industrialio-core.c
index 151ff3993354..f3f8392623a4 100644
--- a/drivers/iio/industrialio-core.c
+++ b/drivers/iio/industrialio-core.c
@@ -1916,7 +1916,7 @@ static const struct iio_buffer_setup_ops noop_ring_setup_ops;
 int __iio_device_register(struct iio_dev *indio_dev, struct module *this_mod)
 {
 	struct iio_dev_opaque *iio_dev_opaque = to_iio_dev_opaque(indio_dev);
-	struct fwnode_handle *fwnode;
+	struct fwnode_handle *fwnode = NULL;
 	int ret;
 
 	if (!indio_dev->info)
@@ -1927,7 +1927,8 @@ int __iio_device_register(struct iio_dev *indio_dev, struct module *this_mod)
 	/* If the calling driver did not initialize firmware node, do it here */
 	if (dev_fwnode(&indio_dev->dev))
 		fwnode = dev_fwnode(&indio_dev->dev);
-	else
+	/* The default dummy IIO device has no parent */
+	else if (indio_dev->dev.parent)
 		fwnode = dev_fwnode(indio_dev->dev.parent);
 	device_set_node(&indio_dev->dev, fwnode);