diff --git a/release.sh b/release.sh
index 1ec4afb6d..f05252605 100755
--- a/release.sh
+++ b/release.sh
@@ -238,6 +238,7 @@ fi
 # if it is a pre-release, leave it on the release branch for now.
 if [ $prerelease -eq 1 ]; then
     exit 0
+    git checkout "$rel_branch"
 fi
 
 # merge release branch to master