diff --git a/nimble/host/mesh/src/proxy_srv.c b/nimble/host/mesh/src/proxy_srv.c
index 3507d0a45..dcbabfa29 100644
--- a/nimble/host/mesh/src/proxy_srv.c
+++ b/nimble/host/mesh/src/proxy_srv.c
@@ -758,7 +758,7 @@ bool bt_mesh_proxy_relay(struct os_mbuf *buf, uint16_t dst)
 		struct bt_mesh_proxy_client *client = &clients[i];
 		struct os_mbuf *msg;
 
-		if (client->cli->conn_handle == BLE_HS_CONN_HANDLE_NONE) {
+		if (!client->cli) {
 			continue;
 		}