diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/cameraview.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/cameraview.cc
index dd3af9e209..cc46f5f3dc 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/cameraview.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/widgets/cameraview.cc
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ void CameraViewWidget::updateFrameMat(int w, int h) {
       }};
       frame_mat = matmul(device_transform, frame_transform);
     }
-  } else {
+  } else if (vipc_client->connected) {
     // fit frame to widget size
     float w  = (float)width() / height();
     float f = (float)vipc_client->buffers[0].width  / vipc_client->buffers[0].height;