diff --git a/libavformat/http.c b/libavformat/http.c
index 70b7ec038c..5ddcb61f6c 100644
--- a/libavformat/http.c
+++ b/libavformat/http.c
@@ -2124,7 +2124,7 @@ static int64_t http_seek_internal(URLContext *h, int64_t off, int whence, int fo
 
     /* try to reuse existing connection for small seeks */
     uint64_t remaining = s->range_end - old_off - old_buf_size;
-    if (!s->willclose && s->range_end && remaining <= ffurl_get_short_seek(h)) {
+    if (s->hd && !s->willclose && s->range_end && remaining <= ffurl_get_short_seek(h)) {
         /* drain remaining data left on the wire from previous request */
         av_log(h, AV_LOG_DEBUG, "Soft-seeking to offset %"PRIu64" by draining "
                "%"PRIu64" remaining byte(s)\n", s->off, remaining);