diff --git a/cli/mmcli.c b/cli/mmcli.c
index 3343a6c8..76e630b0 100644
--- a/cli/mmcli.c
+++ b/cli/mmcli.c
@@ -188,7 +188,8 @@ mmcli_force_sync_operation (void)
 void
 mmcli_force_operation_timeout (GDBusProxy *proxy)
 {
-    g_dbus_proxy_set_default_timeout (proxy, timeout * 1000);
+    if (proxy)
+        g_dbus_proxy_set_default_timeout (proxy, timeout * 1000);
 }
 
 gint