diff --git a/src/nm-device-ethernet.c b/src/nm-device-ethernet.c
index 6a75cba..0b27901 100644
--- a/src/nm-device-ethernet.c
+++ b/src/nm-device-ethernet.c
@@ -632,8 +632,6 @@ real_connection_secrets_updated (NMDevice *dev,
 	gboolean valid = FALSE;
 	GSList *iter;
 
-	if (nm_device_get_state (dev) != NM_DEVICE_STATE_NEED_AUTH)
-		return;
 
 	/* PPPoE? */
 	if (caller == SECRETS_CALLER_PPP) {
@@ -663,6 +661,7 @@ real_connection_secrets_updated (NMDevice *dev,
 
 	/* Only caller could be ourselves for 802.1x */
 	g_return_if_fail (caller == SECRETS_CALLER_ETHERNET);
+	g_return_if_fail (nm_device_get_state (dev) == NM_DEVICE_STATE_NEED_AUTH);
 
 	for (iter = updated_settings; iter; iter = g_slist_next (iter)) {
 		const char *setting_name = (const char *) iter->data;