diff --git a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
index 0b3dbc7e39fdc6310be93fc7342a69be71ddb455..5eac94cf4ff89b87cbd6ae5bed4214906bf7d903 100644
--- a/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
+++ b/drivers/char/ipmi/ipmi_si_intf.c
@@ -1980,7 +1980,7 @@ static int try_smi_init(struct smi_info *new_smi)
 	/* Do this early so it's available for logs. */
 	if (!new_smi->io.dev) {
 		pr_err("IPMI interface added with no device\n");
-		rv = EIO;
+		rv = -EIO;
 		goto out_err;
 	}