diff --git a/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5previewnodeinstanceserver.cpp b/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5previewnodeinstanceserver.cpp
index f45b5e22808..c7821f9d3cd 100644
--- a/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5previewnodeinstanceserver.cpp
+++ b/share/qtcreator/qml/qmlpuppet/qml2puppet/instances/qt5previewnodeinstanceserver.cpp
@@ -65,6 +65,9 @@ void Qt5PreviewNodeInstanceServer::collectItemChangesAndSendChangeCommands()
 {
     static bool inFunction = false;
 
+    if (rootNodeInstance().internalSGItem() == 0)
+        return;
+
     if (!inFunction && nodeInstanceClient()->bytesToWrite() < 10000) {
         inFunction = true;
         QVector<ImageContainer> imageContainerVector;