diff --git a/src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp b/src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp
index 774be9c17..7f5c9b7fc 100644
--- a/src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp
+++ b/src/mesh/ReliableRouter.cpp
@@ -164,13 +164,13 @@ bool ReliableRouter::stopRetransmission(GlobalPacketId key)
 {
     auto old = findPendingPacket(key);
     if (old) {
+        auto p = old->packet;
         auto numErased = pending.erase(key);
         assert(numErased == 1);
         // remove the 'original' (identified by originator and packet->id) from the txqueue and free it
-        cancelSending(getFrom(old->packet), old->packet->id);
-        // now free the pooled copy for retransmission too. tryfix for #2228
-        if (old->packet)
-            packetPool.release(old->packet);
+        cancelSending(getFrom(p), p->id);
+        // now free the pooled copy for retransmission too
+        packetPool.release(p);
         return true;
     } else
         return false;