diff --git a/api/src/opentrons/hardware_control/ot3api.py b/api/src/opentrons/hardware_control/ot3api.py
index 97b426c82d4..cef5a28c0e1 100644
--- a/api/src/opentrons/hardware_control/ot3api.py
+++ b/api/src/opentrons/hardware_control/ot3api.py
@@ -2718,9 +2718,7 @@ async def liquid_probe(
         #  probe_start_pos.z + z_distance of pass - pos.z should be < max_z_dist
         # due to rounding errors this can get caught in an infinite loop when the distance is almost equal
         # so we check to see if they're within 0.01 which is 1/5th the minimum movement distance from move_utils.py
-        while (probe_start_pos.z - pos.z) < max_z_dist and not isclose(
-            (probe_start_pos.z - pos.z), max_z_dist, rel_tol=0.01
-        ):
+        while (probe_start_pos.z - pos.z) < (max_z_dist + 0.01):
             # safe distance so we don't accidentally aspirate liquid if we're already close to liquid
             safe_plunger_pos = top_types.Point(
                 pos.x, pos.y, pos.z + probe_safe_reset_mm