diff --git a/drivers/staging/iio/addac/adt7316-spi.c b/drivers/staging/iio/addac/adt7316-spi.c
index f91325d11394..1debcc36c1af 100644
--- a/drivers/staging/iio/addac/adt7316-spi.c
+++ b/drivers/staging/iio/addac/adt7316-spi.c
@@ -106,7 +106,18 @@ static int adt7316_spi_probe(struct spi_device *spi_dev)
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
-	/* switch from default I2C protocol to SPI protocol */
+	/*
+	 * The device powers up in I2C mode. Switching to SPI mode
+	 * requires sending a sequence of SPI writes as described in
+	 * the datasheet "ADT7316/ADT7317/ADT7318", Rev. B,
+	 * in the "Serial Interface Selection" section.
+	 *
+	 * During this sequence, the device may still be in I2C mode,
+	 * so SPI transactions may not be recognized and can fail.
+	 * Such errors are therefore ignored.
+	 *
+	 * TL;DR: Do not change this!
+	 */
 	adt7316_spi_write(spi_dev, 0, 0);
 	adt7316_spi_write(spi_dev, 0, 0);
 	adt7316_spi_write(spi_dev, 0, 0);