diff --git a/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go b/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
index c79d8f7c04..b3886270f3 100644
--- a/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
+++ b/eth/protocols/eth/handlers.go
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ func handleGetBlockHeaders(backend Backend, msg Decoder, peer *Peer) error {
 // ServiceGetBlockHeadersQuery assembles the response to a header query. It is
 // exposed to allow external packages to test protocol behavior.
 func ServiceGetBlockHeadersQuery(chain *core.BlockChain, query *GetBlockHeadersRequest, peer *Peer) []rlp.RawValue {
+	if query.Amount == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
 	if query.Skip == 0 {
 		// The fast path: when the request is for a contiguous segment of headers.
 		return serviceContiguousBlockHeaderQuery(chain, query)
@@ -144,9 +147,6 @@ func serviceContiguousBlockHeaderQuery(chain *core.BlockChain, query *GetBlockHe
 	if count > maxHeadersServe {
 		count = maxHeadersServe
 	}
-	if count == 0 {
-		return nil
-	}
 	if query.Origin.Hash == (common.Hash{}) {
 		// Number mode, just return the canon chain segment. The backend
 		// delivers in [N, N-1, N-2..] descending order, so we need to