diff --git a/libs/utils/Trace.cpp b/libs/utils/Trace.cpp
index 5cd5731..f5aaea3 100644
--- a/libs/utils/Trace.cpp
+++ b/libs/utils/Trace.cpp
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 volatile int32_t Tracer::sIsReady = 0;
 int Tracer::sTraceFD = -1;
-uint64_t Tracer::sEnabledTags = 0;
+uint64_t Tracer::sEnabledTags = ATRACE_TAG_NOT_READY;
 Mutex Tracer::sMutex;
 
 void Tracer::changeCallback() {
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
         sTraceFD = open(traceFileName, O_WRONLY);
         if (sTraceFD == -1) {
             ALOGE("error opening trace file: %s (%d)", strerror(errno), errno);
-            // sEnabledTags remains zero indicating that no tracing can occur
+            sEnabledTags = 0;   // no tracing can occur
         } else {
             loadSystemProperty();
         }