--- a/drivers/usb/ucsid/src/main.rs
+++ b/drivers/usb/ucsid/src/main.rs
@@ -785,7 +785,11 @@
         .context("failed to read I2C control response")?;
     buffer.truncate(count);
     let text = std::str::from_utf8(&buffer).context("I2C control response was not UTF-8")?;
-    ron::from_str(text).context("failed to decode I2C control response")
+    let trimmed = text.trim();
+    if trimmed.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(I2cControlResponse::AdapterList(Vec::new()));
+    }
+    ron::from_str(trimmed).context("failed to decode I2C control response")
 }
 
 fn read_symbol_id(path: &Path) -> Result<Option<String>> {
--- a/drivers/gpio/i2c-gpio-expanderd/src/main.rs
+++ b/drivers/gpio/i2c-gpio-expanderd/src/main.rs
@@ -429,7 +429,11 @@
         .context("failed to read I2C control response")?;
     buffer.truncate(count);
     let text = std::str::from_utf8(&buffer).context("I2C control response was not UTF-8")?;
-    ron::from_str(text).context("failed to decode I2C control response")
+    let trimmed = text.trim();
+    if trimmed.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(I2cControlResponse::AdapterList(Vec::new()));
+    }
+    ron::from_str(trimmed).context("failed to decode I2C control response")
 }
 
 fn eisa_id_from_integer(integer: u64) -> String {