diff --git a/src/iio-buffer-utils.c b/src/iio-buffer-utils.c
index 678bc18..4d8324d 100644
--- a/src/iio-buffer-utils.c
+++ b/src/iio-buffer-utils.c
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@ iioutils_get_param_float (float      *output,
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	ret = -errno;
 	g_debug ("Failed to read float from %s: %s", filename, g_strerror (-ret));
 	g_free (filename);