diff --git a/src/corelib/serialization/qcborvalue.cpp b/src/corelib/serialization/qcborvalue.cpp
index 2a01d7cfb5d..a1c56dfca4b 100644
--- a/src/corelib/serialization/qcborvalue.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/serialization/qcborvalue.cpp
@@ -2248,12 +2248,6 @@ static void convertArrayToMap(QCborContainerPrivate *&array)
     for (qsizetype i = 0; i < size; ++i)
         dst[i * 2] = { i, QCborValue::Integer };
 
-    // only do this last portion if we're not modifying in-place
-    for (qsizetype i = 0; src != dst && i < size; ++i) {
-        if (dst[i * 2 + 1].flags & QtCbor::Element::IsContainer)
-            dst[i * 2 + 1].container->ref.ref();
-    }
-
     // update reference counts
     assignContainer(array, map);
 }