diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_domain.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_domain.c
index 0cc40e77bbd2..af43e82f45c7 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_domain.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_domain.c
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ static void i915_gem_object_bump_inactive_ggtt(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
 	struct i915_vma *vma;
 
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!i915_gem_object_has_pinned_pages(obj));
-	if (!atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
+	if (list_empty(&obj->vma.list))
 		return;
 
 	mutex_lock(&i915->ggtt.vm.mutex);
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object.c
index 5da9f9e534b9..3f01cdd1a39b 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object.c
@@ -206,7 +206,6 @@ static void __i915_gem_free_objects(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
 		}
 		obj->mmo.offsets = RB_ROOT;
 
-		GEM_BUG_ON(atomic_read(&obj->bind_count));
 		GEM_BUG_ON(obj->userfault_count);
 		GEM_BUG_ON(!list_empty(&obj->lut_list));
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object_types.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object_types.h
index a0b10bcd8d8a..54ee658bb168 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object_types.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_object_types.h
@@ -179,9 +179,6 @@ struct drm_i915_gem_object {
 #define TILING_MASK (FENCE_MINIMUM_STRIDE - 1)
 #define STRIDE_MASK (~TILING_MASK)
 
-	/** Count of VMA actually bound by this object */
-	atomic_t bind_count;
-
 	struct {
 		/*
 		 * Protects the pages and their use. Do not use directly, but
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_pages.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_pages.c
index 24f4cadea114..5d855fcd5c0f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_pages.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_pages.c
@@ -199,8 +199,6 @@ int __i915_gem_object_put_pages(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
 	if (i915_gem_object_has_pinned_pages(obj))
 		return -EBUSY;
 
-	GEM_BUG_ON(atomic_read(&obj->bind_count));
-
 	/* May be called by shrinker from within get_pages() (on another bo) */
 	mutex_lock(&obj->mm.lock);
 	if (unlikely(atomic_read(&obj->mm.pages_pin_count))) {
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_shrinker.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_shrinker.c
index 03e5eb4c99d1..5b65ce738b16 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_shrinker.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/i915_gem_shrinker.c
@@ -26,18 +26,6 @@ static bool can_release_pages(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
 	if (!i915_gem_object_is_shrinkable(obj))
 		return false;
 
-	/*
-	 * Only report true if by unbinding the object and putting its pages
-	 * we can actually make forward progress towards freeing physical
-	 * pages.
-	 *
-	 * If the pages are pinned for any other reason than being bound
-	 * to the GPU, simply unbinding from the GPU is not going to succeed
-	 * in releasing our pin count on the pages themselves.
-	 */
-	if (atomic_read(&obj->mm.pages_pin_count) > atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
-		return false;
-
 	/*
 	 * We can only return physical pages to the system if we can either
 	 * discard the contents (because the user has marked them as being
@@ -54,6 +42,8 @@ static bool unsafe_drop_pages(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 	flags = 0;
 	if (shrink & I915_SHRINK_ACTIVE)
 		flags = I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_ACTIVE;
+	if (!(shrink & I915_SHRINK_BOUND))
+		flags = I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_TEST;
 
 	if (i915_gem_object_unbind(obj, flags) == 0)
 		__i915_gem_object_put_pages(obj);
@@ -194,10 +184,6 @@ i915_gem_shrink(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
 			    i915_gem_object_is_framebuffer(obj))
 				continue;
 
-			if (!(shrink & I915_SHRINK_BOUND) &&
-			    atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
-				continue;
-
 			if (!can_release_pages(obj))
 				continue;
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/selftests/i915_gem_mman.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/selftests/i915_gem_mman.c
index 43912e9b683d..ef7abcb3f4ee 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/selftests/i915_gem_mman.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gem/selftests/i915_gem_mman.c
@@ -1156,9 +1156,6 @@ static int __igt_mmap_revoke(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
 	if (err)
 		goto out_unmap;
 
-	GEM_BUG_ON(mmo->mmap_type == I915_MMAP_TYPE_GTT &&
-		   !atomic_read(&obj->bind_count));
-
 	err = check_present(addr, obj->base.size);
 	if (err) {
 		pr_err("%s: was not present\n", obj->mm.region->name);
@@ -1175,7 +1172,6 @@ static int __igt_mmap_revoke(struct drm_i915_private *i915,
 		pr_err("Failed to unbind object!\n");
 		goto out_unmap;
 	}
-	GEM_BUG_ON(atomic_read(&obj->bind_count));
 
 	if (type != I915_MMAP_TYPE_GTT) {
 		__i915_gem_object_put_pages(obj);
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_debugfs.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_debugfs.c
index 4c8a88c64c1d..b22b4e9c3138 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_debugfs.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_debugfs.c
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ i915_debugfs_describe_obj(struct seq_file *m, struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
 struct file_stats {
 	struct i915_address_space *vm;
 	unsigned long count;
-	u64 total, unbound;
+	u64 total;
 	u64 active, inactive;
 	u64 closed;
 };
@@ -233,8 +233,6 @@ static int per_file_stats(int id, void *ptr, void *data)
 
 	stats->count++;
 	stats->total += obj->base.size;
-	if (!atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
-		stats->unbound += obj->base.size;
 
 	spin_lock(&obj->vma.lock);
 	if (!stats->vm) {
@@ -284,13 +282,12 @@ static int per_file_stats(int id, void *ptr, void *data)
 
 #define print_file_stats(m, name, stats) do { \
 	if (stats.count) \
-		seq_printf(m, "%s: %lu objects, %llu bytes (%llu active, %llu inactive, %llu unbound, %llu closed)\n", \
+		seq_printf(m, "%s: %lu objects, %llu bytes (%llu active, %llu inactive, %llu closed)\n", \
 			   name, \
 			   stats.count, \
 			   stats.total, \
 			   stats.active, \
 			   stats.inactive, \
-			   stats.unbound, \
 			   stats.closed); \
 } while (0)
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
index 2ee2a2b301ef..f490e385a583 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_drv.h
@@ -1739,6 +1739,7 @@ int i915_gem_object_unbind(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 			   unsigned long flags);
 #define I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_ACTIVE BIT(0)
 #define I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_BARRIER BIT(1)
+#define I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_TEST BIT(2)
 
 void i915_gem_runtime_suspend(struct drm_i915_private *dev_priv);
 
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem.c
index b0836fc47ae6..0cbcb9f54e7d 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem.c
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ int i915_gem_object_unbind(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 	struct i915_vma *vma;
 	int ret;
 
-	if (!atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
+	if (list_empty(&obj->vma.list))
 		return 0;
 
 	/*
@@ -141,6 +141,11 @@ int i915_gem_object_unbind(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 		if (!i915_vma_is_bound(vma, I915_VMA_BIND_MASK))
 			continue;
 
+		if (flags & I915_GEM_OBJECT_UNBIND_TEST) {
+			ret = -EBUSY;
+			break;
+		}
+
 		ret = -EAGAIN;
 		if (!i915_vm_tryopen(vm))
 			break;
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
index b5f78b0acf5d..4cdd883f9d66 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_vma.c
@@ -608,18 +608,6 @@ bool i915_gem_valid_gtt_space(struct i915_vma *vma, unsigned long color)
 	return true;
 }
 
-static void assert_bind_count(const struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj)
-{
-	/*
-	 * Combine the assertion that the object is bound and that we have
-	 * pinned its pages. But we should never have bound the object
-	 * more than we have pinned its pages. (For complete accuracy, we
-	 * assume that no else is pinning the pages, but as a rough assertion
-	 * that we will not run into problems later, this will do!)
-	 */
-	GEM_BUG_ON(atomic_read(&obj->mm.pages_pin_count) < atomic_read(&obj->bind_count));
-}
-
 /**
  * i915_vma_insert - finds a slot for the vma in its address space
  * @vma: the vma
@@ -738,12 +726,6 @@ i915_vma_insert(struct i915_vma *vma, u64 size, u64 alignment, u64 flags)
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!drm_mm_node_allocated(&vma->node));
 	GEM_BUG_ON(!i915_gem_valid_gtt_space(vma, color));
 
-	if (vma->obj) {
-		struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj = vma->obj;
-
-		atomic_inc(&obj->bind_count);
-		assert_bind_count(obj);
-	}
 	list_add_tail(&vma->vm_link, &vma->vm->bound_list);
 
 	return 0;
@@ -761,12 +743,6 @@ i915_vma_detach(struct i915_vma *vma)
 	 * it to be reaped by the shrinker.
 	 */
 	list_del(&vma->vm_link);
-	if (vma->obj) {
-		struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj = vma->obj;
-
-		assert_bind_count(obj);
-		atomic_dec(&obj->bind_count);
-	}
 }
 
 static bool try_qad_pin(struct i915_vma *vma, unsigned int flags)
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_evict.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_evict.c
index 06ef88510209..028baae9631f 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_evict.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_evict.c
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ static void quirk_add(struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj,
 
 static int populate_ggtt(struct i915_ggtt *ggtt, struct list_head *objects)
 {
-	unsigned long unbound, bound, count;
 	struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj;
+	unsigned long count;
 
 	count = 0;
 	do {
@@ -72,30 +72,6 @@ static int populate_ggtt(struct i915_ggtt *ggtt, struct list_head *objects)
 	pr_debug("Filled GGTT with %lu pages [%llu total]\n",
 		 count, ggtt->vm.total / PAGE_SIZE);
 
-	bound = 0;
-	unbound = 0;
-	list_for_each_entry(obj, objects, st_link) {
-		GEM_BUG_ON(!obj->mm.quirked);
-
-		if (atomic_read(&obj->bind_count))
-			bound++;
-		else
-			unbound++;
-	}
-	GEM_BUG_ON(bound + unbound != count);
-
-	if (unbound) {
-		pr_err("%s: Found %lu objects unbound, expected %u!\n",
-		       __func__, unbound, 0);
-		return -EINVAL;
-	}
-
-	if (bound != count) {
-		pr_err("%s: Found %lu objects bound, expected %lu!\n",
-		       __func__, bound, count);
-		return -EINVAL;
-	}
-
 	if (list_empty(&ggtt->vm.bound_list)) {
 		pr_err("No objects on the GGTT inactive list!\n");
 		return -EINVAL;
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_gtt.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_gtt.c
index b342bef5e7c9..5d2a02fcf595 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_gtt.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/i915/selftests/i915_gem_gtt.c
@@ -1229,7 +1229,6 @@ static void track_vma_bind(struct i915_vma *vma)
 {
 	struct drm_i915_gem_object *obj = vma->obj;
 
-	atomic_inc(&obj->bind_count); /* track for eviction later */
 	__i915_gem_object_pin_pages(obj);
 
 	GEM_BUG_ON(vma->pages);
