diff --git a/hps/dev.cc b/hps/dev.cc
index 715f202..f7536cd 100644
--- a/hps/dev.cc
+++ b/hps/dev.cc
@@ -14,12 +14,6 @@
 
 namespace hps {
 
-/*
- * TODO(amcrae): It is questionable whether this layer should be using
- * retries, since a retry shim layer can be added separately.
- */
-static const int kIoRetries = 5;
-
 bool DevInterface::Read(uint8_t cmd, uint8_t* data, size_t len) {
   if (this->ReadDevice(cmd, data, len)) {
     VLOG(2) << "Read: " << cmd << " " << len << " OK";
@@ -45,7 +39,9 @@
 int DevInterface::ReadReg(HpsReg r) {
   uint8_t res[2];
 
-  for (int i = 0; i < kIoRetries; i++) {
+  // TODO(evanbenn) MCP hal requires a retry on kBankReady
+  // b/191716856
+  for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
     if (this->ReadDevice(I2cReg(r), res, sizeof(res))) {
       int ret = (static_cast<int>(res[0]) << 8) | static_cast<int>(res[1]);
       VLOG(2) << "ReadReg: " << HpsRegToString(r) << " " << ret << " OK";
@@ -62,17 +58,19 @@
  */
 bool DevInterface::WriteReg(HpsReg r, uint16_t data) {
   uint8_t buf[2];
+
   buf[0] = data >> 8;
   buf[1] = data & 0xFF;
-  for (int i = 0; i < kIoRetries; i++) {
-    if (this->WriteDevice(I2cReg(r), buf, sizeof(buf))) {
-      VLOG(2) << "WriteReg: " << HpsRegToString(r) << " " << data << " OK";
-      return true;
-    }
+
+  if (this->WriteDevice(I2cReg(r), buf, sizeof(buf))) {
+    VLOG(2) << "WriteReg: " << HpsRegToString(r) << " " << data << " OK";
+    return true;
+  } else {
+    VLOG(2) << "WriteReg: " << HpsRegToString(r) << " " << data << " FAILED";
+    return false;
   }
-  VLOG(2) << "WriteReg: " << HpsRegToString(r) << " " << data << " FAILED";
-  return false;
 }
+
 /*
  * Return the maximum download block size (in bytes).
  * Default is 256 bytes.
diff --git a/hps/dev_test.cc b/hps/dev_test.cc
index 249b146..945bcc0 100644
--- a/hps/dev_test.cc
+++ b/hps/dev_test.cc
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 
 namespace {
 
-static int const kRetry = 5;
 static int const kBlockSizeBytes = 128;
 
 // Fake that implements a DevInterface.
@@ -102,50 +101,6 @@
 }
 
 /*
- * Verify that a Read will fail once the retries are exceeded.
- */
-TEST_F(DevInterfaceTest, ReadFail) {
-  dev_.fails_ = kRetry;
-  int d = dev_.ReadReg(hps::HpsReg::kMagic);
-  EXPECT_EQ(d, -1);
-  EXPECT_EQ(dev_.reads_, kRetry);
-}
-
-/*
- * Verify that a Write will fail once the retries are exceeded.
- */
-TEST_F(DevInterfaceTest, WriteFail) {
-  dev_.fails_ = kRetry;
-  EXPECT_FALSE(dev_.WriteReg(hps::HpsReg::kMagic, 0x1234));
-  EXPECT_EQ(dev_.writes_, kRetry);
-}
-
-/*
- * Verify that a failed Read will be retried and succeed with
- * the second attempt.
- */
-TEST_F(DevInterfaceTest, ReadRetry) {
-  dev_.fails_ = 1;
-  dev_.data_[0] = 0x12;
-  dev_.data_[1] = 0x34;
-  int d = dev_.ReadReg(hps::HpsReg::kMagic);
-  EXPECT_EQ(d, 0x1234);
-  // One failed read, one success.
-  EXPECT_EQ(dev_.reads_, 2);
-}
-
-/*
- * Verify that a failed Write will be retried and succeed with
- * the second attempt.
- */
-TEST_F(DevInterfaceTest, WriteRetry) {
-  dev_.fails_ = 1;
-  EXPECT_TRUE(dev_.WriteReg(hps::HpsReg::kMagic, 0x1234));
-  // One failed write, one success.
-  EXPECT_EQ(dev_.writes_, 2);
-}
-
-/*
  * Verify that the correct block size is selected.
  */
 TEST_F(DevInterfaceTest, BlockSize) {