diff --git a/cmds-balance.c b/cmds-balance.c
index c1dfe86e..15dc385e 100644
--- a/cmds-balance.c
+++ b/cmds-balance.c
@@ -481,11 +481,12 @@ static int do_balance(const char *path, struct btrfs_ioctl_balance_args *args,
 			"There may be more info in syslog - try dmesg | tail\n");
 			ret = 1;
 		}
+	} else if (ret > 0) {
+		error("balance: %s", btrfs_err_str(ret));
 	} else {
 		printf("Done, had to relocate %llu out of %llu chunks\n",
 		       (unsigned long long)args->stat.completed,
 		       (unsigned long long)args->stat.considered);
-		ret = 0;
 	}
 
 out: