diff --git a/daemon/chroot.ml b/daemon/chroot.ml
index 5e856c91f..7da8ae29e 100644
--- a/daemon/chroot.ml
+++ b/daemon/chroot.ml
@@ -62,6 +62,10 @@ let f t func arg =
   (* Parent. *)
   close wfd;
 
+  let chan = in_channel_of_descr rfd in
+  let ret = input_value chan in
+  close_in chan;
+
   let _, status = waitpid [] pid in
   (match status with
    | WEXITED 0 -> ()
@@ -76,10 +80,6 @@ let f t func arg =
       failwithf "chroot ‘%s’ stopped by signal %d" t.name i
   );
 
-  let chan = in_channel_of_descr rfd in
-  let ret = input_value chan in
-  close_in chan;
-
   match ret with
   | Either ret -> ret
   | Or exn -> raise exn