diff --git a/esphome/components/ws18x0_uart/ws18x0_uart.cpp b/esphome/components/ws18x0_uart/ws18x0_uart.cpp
index 672c3bf64f..0a41c291c3 100644
--- a/esphome/components/ws18x0_uart/ws18x0_uart.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/ws18x0_uart/ws18x0_uart.cpp
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ void ws18x0_uart::WS18x0UARTComponent::loop() {
         break;
       case WS18X0_UART_STATE_WAITING_FOR_LENGTH:
         if (data >= 9 && data <= 10) {
-          this->raw_ = 0;
+          this->raw_ = data;
           this->read_state_ = data - 2;
         } else {
           // Invalid length. Warn and resync