diff --git a/lib/internal/http2/core.js b/lib/internal/http2/core.js
index 6f6fcbd66038ac..2576600fd66e19 100644
--- a/lib/internal/http2/core.js
+++ b/lib/internal/http2/core.js
@@ -3110,7 +3110,7 @@ function connect(authority, options, listener) {
   debug('Http2Session connect', options.createConnection);
   // Socket already has some buffered data - emulate receiving it
   // https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/35475
-  if (typeof options.createConnection === 'function') {
+  if (socket && socket.readableLength) {
     let buf;
     while ((buf = socket.read()) !== null) {
       debug(`Http2Session connect: injecting ${buf.length} already in buffer`);