diff --git a/fsck.c b/fsck.c
index 3d05d4a794..c17a538def 100644
--- a/fsck.c
+++ b/fsck.c
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ int fsck_error_function(struct object *obj, int type, const char *fmt, ...)
 	int len;
 	struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
 
-	strbuf_addf(&sb, "object %s:", obj->sha1?sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1):"(null)");
+	strbuf_addf(&sb, "object %s:", sha1_to_hex(obj->sha1));
 
 	va_start(ap, fmt);
 	len = vsnprintf(sb.buf + sb.len, strbuf_avail(&sb), fmt, ap);
diff --git a/transport.c b/transport.c
index 0078660611..26d4e5234a 100644
--- a/transport.c
+++ b/transport.c
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ static void set_upstreams(struct transport *transport, struct ref *refs,
 			continue;
 		if (!ref->peer_ref)
 			continue;
-		if (!ref->new_sha1 || is_null_sha1(ref->new_sha1))
+		if (is_null_sha1(ref->new_sha1))
 			continue;
 
 		/* Follow symbolic refs (mainly for HEAD). */