diff --git a/src/xterm.c b/src/xterm.c
index 2e0407aff4..448e06eb8b 100644
--- a/src/xterm.c
+++ b/src/xterm.c
@@ -12709,8 +12709,6 @@ x_term_init (Lisp_Object display_name, char *xrm_option, char *resource_name)
       ++x_initialized;
     }
 
-  if (! x_display_ok (SSDATA (display_name)))
-    error ("Display %s can't be opened", SSDATA (display_name));
 
 #ifdef USE_GTK
   {
@@ -12838,6 +12836,7 @@ #define NUM_ARGV 10
   /* Detect failure.  */
   if (dpy == 0)
     {
+      error ("Display %s can't be opened", SSDATA (display_name));
       unblock_input ();
       return 0;
     }