diff --git a/src/update-done/update-done.c b/src/update-done/update-done.c
index e9d589e0e5..92c348d83b 100644
--- a/src/update-done/update-done.c
+++ b/src/update-done/update-done.c
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ static int apply_timestamp(const char *path, struct timespec *ts) {
 
         r = write_string_file_atomic_label_ts(path, message, ts);
         if (r == -EROFS)
-                return log_debug_errno(r, "Cannot create \"%s\", file system is read-only.", path);
-        if (r < 0)
+                log_debug_errno(r, "Cannot create \"%s\", file system is read-only.", path);
+        else if (r < 0)
                 return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to write \"%s\": %m", path);
         return 0;
 }