diff --git a/drivers/devfreq/devfreq.c b/drivers/devfreq/devfreq.c
index e2ab46bfa666e4e5f39a7114ba3ae40e352d8ae6..d350253d161a56283e0a1d5306e760a404943d2c 100644
--- a/drivers/devfreq/devfreq.c
+++ b/drivers/devfreq/devfreq.c
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ static struct devfreq_governor *try_then_request_governor(const char *name)
 		/* Restore previous state before return */
 		mutex_lock(&devfreq_list_lock);
 		if (err)
-			return ERR_PTR(err);
+			return (err < 0) ? ERR_PTR(err) : ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
 
 		governor = find_devfreq_governor(name);
 	}