diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-sink.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-sink.c
index 42b6f061f..0f27d87ce 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-sink.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-sink.c
@@ -597,7 +597,6 @@ static int impl_node_process_input(struct spa_node *node)
 		spa_list_append(&this->ready, &b->link);
 		SPA_FLAG_UNSET(b->flags, BUFFER_FLAG_OUT);
 
-		input->buffer_id = SPA_ID_INVALID;
 		input->status = SPA_STATUS_OK;
 	}
 
diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-utils.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-utils.c
index 19f597292..e8897e1c7 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-utils.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-utils.c
@@ -343,6 +343,8 @@ static inline void try_pull(struct state *state, snd_pcm_uframes_t frames,
 	if (spa_list_is_empty(&state->ready) && do_pull) {
 		spa_log_trace(state->log, "alsa-util %p: %d %lu", state, io->status,
 				state->filled + written);
+		if (io->status == SPA_STATUS_NEED_BUFFER)
+			return;
 		io->status = SPA_STATUS_NEED_BUFFER;
 		if (state->range) {
 			state->range->offset = state->sample_count * state->frame_size;