diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_context.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_context.c
index da1ba8feeedc..fad62d768f08 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_context.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_context.c
@@ -565,6 +565,22 @@ static int __context_set_persistence(struct i915_gem_context *ctx, bool state)
 		if (!(ctx->i915->caps.scheduler & I915_SCHEDULER_CAP_PREEMPTION))
 			return -ENODEV;
 
+		/*
+		 * If the cancel fails, we then need to reset, cleanly!
+		 *
+		 * If the per-engine reset fails, all hope is lost! We resort
+		 * to a full GPU reset in that unlikely case, but realistically
+		 * if the engine could not reset, the full reset does not fare
+		 * much better. The damage has been done.
+		 *
+		 * However, if we cannot reset an engine by itself, we cannot
+		 * cleanup a hanging persistent context without causing
+		 * colateral damage, and we should not pretend we can by
+		 * exposing the interface.
+		 */
+		if (!intel_has_reset_engine(&ctx->i915->gt))
+			return -ENODEV;
+
 		i915_gem_context_clear_persistence(ctx);
 	}