diff --git a/tensordict/nn/params.py b/tensordict/nn/params.py
index 125e0e9c5..03c9632a1 100644
--- a/tensordict/nn/params.py
+++ b/tensordict/nn/params.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import re
 import weakref
 from concurrent.futures import Future, ThreadPoolExecutor
+from contextlib import nullcontext
 from copy import copy
 from functools import wraps
 from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, Iterator, List, OrderedDict, Sequence, Type
@@ -171,7 +172,11 @@ def new_func(_self, *args, **kwargs):
             if _self.is_locked:
                 # if the root (TensorDictParams) is locked, we still want to raise an exception
                 raise RuntimeError(_LOCK_ERROR)
-            with _self._param_td.unlock_():
+            with (
+                _self._param_td.unlock_()
+                if _self._param_td.is_locked
+                else nullcontext()
+            ):
                 meth = getattr(_self._param_td, name)
                 out = meth(*args, **kwargs)
             _self._reset_params()