diff --git a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/include/neteq.h b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/include/neteq.h
index 1ae7664077..9420cdbac9 100644
--- a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/include/neteq.h
+++ b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/include/neteq.h
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ class NetEq {
   // |audio_frame|. All data in |audio_frame| is wiped; |data_|, |speech_type_|,
   // |num_channels_|, |sample_rate_hz_|, |samples_per_channel_|, and
   // |vad_activity_| are updated upon success. If an error is returned, some
-  // fields may not have been updated.
+  // fields may not have been updated, or may contain inconsistent values.
   // If muted state is enabled (through Config::enable_muted_state), |muted|
   // may be set to true after a prolonged expand period. When this happens, the
   // |data_| in |audio_frame| is not written, but should be interpreted as being
diff --git a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/neteq_impl.cc b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/neteq_impl.cc
index 9cd73b6409..e65466f6d8 100644
--- a/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/neteq_impl.cc
+++ b/webrtc/modules/audio_coding/neteq/neteq_impl.cc
@@ -206,13 +206,13 @@ int NetEqImpl::GetAudio(AudioFrame* audio_frame, bool* muted) {
   TRACE_EVENT0("webrtc", "NetEqImpl::GetAudio");
   rtc::CritScope lock(&crit_sect_);
   int error = GetAudioInternal(audio_frame, muted);
-  RTC_DCHECK_EQ(
-      audio_frame->sample_rate_hz_,
-      rtc::checked_cast<int>(audio_frame->samples_per_channel_ * 100));
   if (error != 0) {
     error_code_ = error;
     return kFail;
   }
+  RTC_DCHECK_EQ(
+      audio_frame->sample_rate_hz_,
+      rtc::checked_cast<int>(audio_frame->samples_per_channel_ * 100));
   SetAudioFrameActivityAndType(vad_->enabled(), LastOutputType(),
                                last_vad_activity_, audio_frame);
   last_vad_activity_ = audio_frame->vad_activity_;