diff --git a/src/timer/timer_query.c b/src/timer/timer_query.c
index 6bbe8bf2..d62ee570 100644
--- a/src/timer/timer_query.c
+++ b/src/timer/timer_query.c
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ static int snd_timer_query_open_conf(snd_timer_query_t **timer,
 	if (err >= 0) {
 		if (snd_config_get_type(type_conf) != SND_CONFIG_TYPE_COMPOUND) {
 			SNDERR("Invalid type for TIMER type %s definition", str);
+			err = -EINVAL;
 			goto _err;
 		}
 		snd_config_for_each(i, next, type_conf) {