diff --git a/sound/soc/intel/skylake/cnl-sst.c b/sound/soc/intel/skylake/cnl-sst.c
index c6abcd5aa67b..e808f62960ba 100644
--- a/sound/soc/intel/skylake/cnl-sst.c
+++ b/sound/soc/intel/skylake/cnl-sst.c
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ static int cnl_set_dsp_D0(struct sst_dsp *ctx, unsigned int core_id)
 				"dsp boot timeout, status=%#x error=%#x\n",
 				sst_dsp_shim_read(ctx, CNL_ADSP_FW_STATUS),
 				sst_dsp_shim_read(ctx, CNL_ADSP_ERROR_CODE));
+			ret = -ETIMEDOUT;
 			goto err;
 		}
 	} else {