diff --git a/sharedmem.c b/sharedmem.c
index 66bbd5d..fb31720 100644
--- a/sharedmem.c
+++ b/sharedmem.c
@@ -211,6 +211,14 @@ static int rmtfs_mem_open_rfsa(struct rmtfs_mem *rmem, int client_id)
 
 	errno = 0;
 
+	snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/dev/qcom_rmtfs_mem%d", client_id);
+	rmem->fd = open(path, O_RDWR);
+	if (rmem->fd < 0) {
+		saved_errno = errno;
+		fprintf(stderr, "failed to open %s: %s\n", path, strerror(errno));
+		return -saved_errno;
+	}
+
 	snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/sys/class/rmtfs/qcom_rmtfs_mem%d/phys_addr", client_id);
 	fd = open(path, O_RDONLY);
 	if (fd < 0) {