--- channel.c~	2006-10-24 12:58:48.000000000 +0100
+++ channel.c	2006-11-17 11:25:49.000000000 +0000
@@ -748,43 +748,58 @@
 {
 	const char *msg = prev ? "deadlock" : "initial deadlock";
 	int retries, done;
-	struct ast_channel *c;
+	struct ast_channel *c, *fromc;
 
 	for (retries = 0; retries < 10; retries++) {
 		ast_mutex_lock(&chlock);
-		for (c = channels; c; c = c->next) {
-			if (!prev) {
-				/* want head of list */
-				if (!name && !exten && !uniqueid)
+		/* If prev is defined, then it specifies the start point of the search, so
+		 * check it exists. If prev is NULL, start from the beginning.
+		 */
+		if ( prev ) {
+			for (c = channels; c; c = c->next) {
+				if( c == prev )
 					break;
-				if (uniqueid) {
-				    if (!strcasecmp(c->uniqueid, uniqueid))
-				    	break;
-				    else
+			}
+			/* Could not find prev in the channel list, so stop. */
+			if ( !c ) {
+				ast_mutex_unlock(&chlock);
+				return NULL;
+			}
+			fromc = c;
+		} else
+			fromc = channels;
+		for (c = fromc; c; c = c->next) {
+			/* Want head of list */
+			if (!prev && !name && !exten && !uniqueid )
+				break;
+
+			if (uniqueid) {
+				if (!strcasecmp(c->uniqueid, uniqueid))
+					break;
+				else
 					continue;
-				} else if (name) {
-					/* want match by full name */
-					if (!namelen) {
-						if (!strcasecmp(c->name, name))
-							break;
-						else
-							continue;
-					}
-					/* want match by name prefix */
-					if (!strncasecmp(c->name, name, namelen))
+			} else if (name) {
+				/* want match by full name */
+				if (!namelen) {
+					if (!strcasecmp(c->name, name))
 						break;
-				} else if (exten) {
-					/* want match by context and exten */
-					if (context && (strcasecmp(c->context, context) &&
-							strcasecmp(c->macrocontext, context)))
-						continue;
-					/* match by exten */
-					if (strcasecmp(c->exten, exten) &&
-					    strcasecmp(c->macroexten, exten))
-						continue;
 					else
-						break;
+						continue;
 				}
+				/* want match by name prefix */
+				if (!strncasecmp(c->name, name, namelen))
+					break;
+			} else if (exten) {
+				/* want match by context and exten */
+				if (context && (strcasecmp(c->context, context) &&
+						strcasecmp(c->macrocontext, context)))
+					continue;
+				/* match by exten */
+				if (strcasecmp(c->exten, exten) &&
+				    strcasecmp(c->macroexten, exten))
+					continue;
+				else
+					break;
 			} else if (c == prev) { /* found, return c->next */
 				c = c->next;
 				break;
@@ -793,20 +808,33 @@
 		/* exit if chan not found or mutex acquired successfully */
 		done = (c == NULL) || (ast_mutex_trylock(&c->lock) == 0);
 		/* this is slightly unsafe, as we _should_ hold the lock to access c->name */
-		if (!done && c)
+		if (!done && c) {
 			ast_log(LOG_DEBUG, "Avoiding %s for '%s'\n", msg, c->name);
+			/* Doing this here so we know we still have a channel-list lock.
+			 *
+			 * If we are about to give up locking... Are we at the end of the chan list yet?
+			 * If not, then SKIP this channel rather than giving up completely, as this might
+			 * allow us to eventually resolve the deadlock.
+			 *
+			 * NOTE: No point doing this for a get-list-head, uniqueid, or full-name search.
+			 */
+			if (retries == 10 && (prev || name || exten ) && !uniqueid && !(name && !namelen)) {
+				ast_log(LOG_WARNING, "Avoided %s for '%p', %d retries!\n",
+					msg, c, retries);
+				prev = c;
+				retries = -1;
+			}
+		}
 		ast_mutex_unlock(&chlock);
 		if (done)
 			return c;
 		usleep(1);
+
 	}
 	/*
- 	 * c is surely not null, but we don't have the lock so cannot
-	 * access c->name
+ 	 * We don't have the lock so cannot access c->name, and
+	 * we are at the end of the channels list.
 	 */
-	ast_log(LOG_WARNING, "Avoided %s for '%p', %d retries!\n",
-		msg, c, retries);
-
 	return NULL;
 }