diff --git a/libnm-util/nm-connection.c b/libnm-util/nm-connection.c
index 991fed62a8..7a4e219cec 100644
--- a/libnm-util/nm-connection.c
+++ b/libnm-util/nm-connection.c
@@ -446,11 +446,16 @@ nm_connection_compare (NMConnection *a,
 	GHashTableIter iter;
 	NMSetting *src;
 
-	if (!a && !b)
+	if (a == b)
 		return TRUE;
 	if (!a || !b)
 		return FALSE;
 
+	/* B / A: ensure settings in B that are not in A make the comparison fail */
+	if (g_hash_table_size (NM_CONNECTION_GET_PRIVATE (a)->settings) !=
+		g_hash_table_size (NM_CONNECTION_GET_PRIVATE (b)->settings))
+		return FALSE;
+
 	/* A / B: ensure all settings in A match corresponding ones in B */
 	g_hash_table_iter_init (&iter, NM_CONNECTION_GET_PRIVATE (a)->settings);
 	while (g_hash_table_iter_next (&iter, NULL, (gpointer) &src)) {
@@ -460,11 +465,6 @@ nm_connection_compare (NMConnection *a,
 			return FALSE;
 	}
 
-	/* B / A: ensure settings in B that are not in A make the comparison fail */
-	if (g_hash_table_size (NM_CONNECTION_GET_PRIVATE (a)->settings) !=
-		g_hash_table_size (NM_CONNECTION_GET_PRIVATE (b)->settings))
-		return FALSE;
-
 	return TRUE;
 }