diff --git a/msg.c b/msg.c
index 4589374..b7e1053 100644
--- a/msg.c
+++ b/msg.c
@@ -391,9 +391,6 @@ int msg_post_recv(struct ptp_message *m, int cnt)
 		break;
 	}
 
-	if (msg_sots_missing(m))
-		return -ETIME;
-
 	err = suffix_post_recv(m, suffix, cnt - pdulen);
 	if (err)
 		return err;
diff --git a/port.c b/port.c
index 3493f63..cf41725 100644
--- a/port.c
+++ b/port.c
@@ -2523,10 +2523,6 @@ enum fsm_event port_event(struct port *p, int fd_index)
 		case -EBADMSG:
 			pr_err("port %hu: bad message", portnum(p));
 			break;
-		case -ETIME:
-			pr_err("port %hu: received %s without timestamp",
-				portnum(p), msg_type_string(msg_type(msg)));
-			break;
 		case -EPROTO:
 			pr_debug("port %hu: ignoring message", portnum(p));
 			break;
@@ -2534,6 +2530,12 @@ enum fsm_event port_event(struct port *p, int fd_index)
 		msg_put(msg);
 		return EV_NONE;
 	}
+	if (msg_sots_missing(msg)) {
+		pr_err("port %hu: received %s without timestamp",
+		       portnum(p), msg_type_string(msg_type(msg)));
+		msg_put(msg);
+		return EV_NONE;
+	}
 	if (msg_sots_valid(msg)) {
 		ts_add(&msg->hwts.ts, -p->rx_timestamp_offset);
 		clock_check_ts(p->clock, tmv_to_nanoseconds(msg->hwts.ts));