diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index ff9d4332..d1fa1097 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -1521,9 +1521,17 @@ int snd_config_get_id(const snd_config_t *config, const char **id)
  */
 int snd_config_set_id(snd_config_t *config, const char *id)
 {
+	snd_config_iterator_t i, next;
 	char *new_id;
 	assert(config);
 	if (id) {
+		if (config->father) {
+			snd_config_for_each(i, next, config->father) {
+				snd_config_t *n = snd_config_iterator_entry(i);
+				if (n != config && strcmp(id, n->id) == 0)
+					return -EEXIST;
+			}
+		}
 		new_id = strdup(id);
 		if (!new_id)
 			return -ENOMEM;