diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/components/PromExemplarField.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/components/PromExemplarField.tsx
index 42412381868..0b173db7bfb 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/components/PromExemplarField.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/components/PromExemplarField.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,13 @@ export function PromExemplarField({ datasource, onChange, isEnabled, refId }: Pr
     };
   }, [datasource, refId]);
 
+  // If exemplars are disabled, set them to false
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (error) {
+      onChange(false);
+    }
+  }, [error, onChange]);
+
   const iconButtonStyles = cx(
     {
       [styles.activeIcon]: isEnabled,