diff --git a/src/plugins/bineditor/bineditorplugin.cpp b/src/plugins/bineditor/bineditorplugin.cpp
index a47ddf9e921..586bb58e52b 100644
--- a/src/plugins/bineditor/bineditorplugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/bineditor/bineditorplugin.cpp
@@ -267,19 +267,19 @@ public:
 
     bool open(QString *errorString, const QString &fileName, quint64 offset = 0) {
         QFile file(fileName);
-        quint64 size = static_cast<quint64>(file.size());
-        if (size == 0 && !fileName.isEmpty()) {
-            QString msg = tr("The Binary Editor cannot open empty files.");
-            if (errorString)
-                *errorString = msg;
-            else
-                QMessageBox::critical(ICore::mainWindow(), tr("File Error"), msg);
-            return false;
-        }
-        if (offset >= size)
-            return false;
         if (file.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly)) {
             file.close();
+            quint64 size = static_cast<quint64>(file.size());
+            if (size == 0) {
+                QString msg = tr("The Binary Editor cannot open empty files.");
+                if (errorString)
+                    *errorString = msg;
+                else
+                    QMessageBox::critical(ICore::mainWindow(), tr("File Error"), msg);
+                return false;
+            }
+            if (offset >= size)
+                return false;
             setFilePath(FileName::fromString(fileName));
             m_widget->setSizes(offset, file.size());
             return true;