diff --git a/ptp4l.c b/ptp4l.c
index c64aa05..3724999 100644
--- a/ptp4l.c
+++ b/ptp4l.c
@@ -203,6 +203,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (config && config_read(config, &cfg_settings)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "failed to read configuration file\n");
+		return -1;
+	}
+
 	if (!*nports) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "no interface specified\n");
 		usage(progname);
@@ -232,11 +237,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	if (config && config_read(config, &cfg_settings)) {
-		fprintf(stderr, "failed to read configuration file\n");
-		return -1;
-	}
-
 	print_set_verbose(cfg_settings.verbose);
 	print_set_syslog(cfg_settings.use_syslog);
 	print_set_level(cfg_settings.print_level);