diff --git a/drivers/mmcsd/mmcsd_sdio.c b/drivers/mmcsd/mmcsd_sdio.c
index ce0f132f628..5465ab781ee 100644
--- a/drivers/mmcsd/mmcsd_sdio.c
+++ b/drivers/mmcsd/mmcsd_sdio.c
@@ -3377,6 +3377,12 @@ static int mmcsd_cardidentify(FAR struct mmcsd_state_s *priv)
   if (ret != OK)
     {
       ferr("ERROR: CMD1 RECVR3: %d\n", ret);
+
+      /* CMD1 did not succeed, card is not MMC. This sleep let
+       * the communication to recover before another send.
+       */
+
+      nxsig_usleep(MMCSD_IDLE_DELAY);
     }
   else
     {