diff --git a/lib/distributed_mutex.rb b/lib/distributed_mutex.rb
index 76def3e785..d47f059d0f 100644
--- a/lib/distributed_mutex.rb
+++ b/lib/distributed_mutex.rb
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@ class DistributedMutex
 
     while !try_to_get_lock
       sleep 0.001
-      attempts += 1
       # in readonly we will never be able to get a lock
-      if @using_global_redis && attempts > CHECK_READONLY_ATTEMPT
-        raise Discourse::ReadOnly
+      if @using_global_redis && Discourse.recently_readonly?
+        attempts += 1
+        if attempts > CHECK_READONLY_ATTEMPT
+          raise Discourse::ReadOnly
+        end
       end
     end