diff --git a/backend/s3/s3.go b/backend/s3/s3.go
index 9aea35c18..ccdeebf14 100644
--- a/backend/s3/s3.go
+++ b/backend/s3/s3.go
@@ -1693,7 +1693,7 @@ func NewFs(ctx context.Context, name, root string, m configmap.Mapper) (fs.Fs, e
 		GetTier:           true,
 		SlowModTime:       true,
 	}).Fill(ctx, f)
-	if f.rootBucket != "" && f.rootDirectory != "" && !opt.NoHeadObject {
+	if f.rootBucket != "" && f.rootDirectory != "" && !opt.NoHeadObject && !strings.HasSuffix(root, "/") {
 		// Check to see if the (bucket,directory) is actually an existing file
 		oldRoot := f.root
 		newRoot, leaf := path.Split(oldRoot)