diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/f71808e_wdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/f71808e_wdt.c
index aa93df5833dc..2048aad91add 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/f71808e_wdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/f71808e_wdt.c
@@ -520,7 +520,8 @@ static ssize_t watchdog_write(struct file *file, const char __user *buf,
 				char c;
 				if (get_user(c, buf + i))
 					return -EFAULT;
-				expect_close = (c == 'V');
+				if (c == 'V')
+					expect_close = true;
 			}
 
 			/* Properly order writes across fork()ed processes */