diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/objectstore.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/objectstore.go
index c2921ca48..291518f03 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/objectstore.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/objectstore.go
@@ -874,11 +874,9 @@ func getDashboardUser(context *Context) (ObjectUser, error) {
 		SystemUser:  true,
 	}
 
-	if !context.CephClusterSpec.External.Enable {
-		// Retrieve RGW Dashboard credentials if some are already set
-		if err := retrieveDashboardAPICredentials(context, &user); err != nil {
-			return user, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to retrieve RGW Dashboard credentials for %q user", DashboardUser)
-		}
+	// Retrieve RGW Dashboard credentials if some are already set
+	if err := retrieveDashboardAPICredentials(context, &user); err != nil {
+		return user, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to retrieve RGW Dashboard credentials for %q user", DashboardUser)
 	}
 
 	return user, nil
diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/rgw.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/rgw.go
index a5d6eda63..87628ff88 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/rgw.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/rgw.go
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ func (c *clusterConfig) startRGWPods(realmName, zoneGroupName, zoneName string)
 func (c *clusterConfig) deleteStore() {
 	logger.Infof("deleting object store %q from namespace %q", c.store.Name, c.store.Namespace)
 
-	if !c.clusterSpec.External.Enable {
+	if !c.store.Spec.IsExternal() {
 		// Delete rgw CephX keys and configuration in centralized mon database
 		for i := 0; i < int(c.store.Spec.Gateway.Instances); i++ {
 			daemonLetterID := k8sutil.IndexToName(i)
diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/user/controller.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/user/controller.go
index a57a15f50..225ef1ae7 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/object/user/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/object/user/controller.go
@@ -478,15 +478,15 @@ func (r *ReconcileObjectStoreUser) reconcileCephUserSecret(cephObjectStoreUser *
 }
 
 func (r *ReconcileObjectStoreUser) objectStoreInitialized(cephObjectStoreUser *cephv1.CephObjectStoreUser) error {
-	_, err := r.getObjectStore(cephObjectStoreUser.Spec.Store)
+	cephObjectStore, err := r.getObjectStore(cephObjectStoreUser.Spec.Store)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	logger.Debug("CephObjectStore exists")
 
-	// If the cluster is external just return
+	// If the rgw is external just return
 	// since there are no pods running
-	if r.cephClusterSpec.External.Enable {
+	if cephObjectStore.Spec.IsExternal() {
 		return nil
 	}
 
@@ -571,10 +571,8 @@ func (r *ReconcileObjectStoreUser) validateUser(u *cephv1.CephObjectStoreUser) e
 	if u.Namespace == "" {
 		return errors.New("missing namespace")
 	}
-	if !r.cephClusterSpec.External.Enable {
-		if u.Spec.Store == "" {
-			return errors.New("missing store")
-		}
+	if u.Spec.Store == "" {
+		return errors.New("missing store")
 	}
 	return nil
 }