diff --git a/apps/systemcmds/eeprom/eeprom.c b/apps/systemcmds/eeprom/eeprom.c
index c4b7e58705..fa1bcc8b4d 100644
--- a/apps/systemcmds/eeprom/eeprom.c
+++ b/apps/systemcmds/eeprom/eeprom.c
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ eeprom_load(const char *name)
 	close(fd);
 
 	if (result < 0)
-		unlink(name);
+		errx(1, "error importing from '%s'", name);
 
 	exit(0);
 }