diff --git a/qemu-io.c b/qemu-io.c
index b2f2f5a9a97c73a76c2d93b62a085c1159f5263c..2f195bfe4fe34ceda85e130949c7128e45e26995 100644
--- a/qemu-io.c
+++ b/qemu-io.c
@@ -1284,7 +1284,7 @@ static int openfile(char *name, int flags, int growable)
 		flags |= BDRV_O_FILE;
 	}
 
-	if (bdrv_open(bs, name, flags) == -1) {
+	if (bdrv_open(bs, name, flags) < 0) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: can't open device %s\n", progname, name);
 		bs = NULL;
 		return 1;