diff --git a/include/hw/vfio/vfio-common.h b/include/hw/vfio/vfio-common.h
index b7bb4f5304..b712799caf 100644
--- a/include/hw/vfio/vfio-common.h
+++ b/include/hw/vfio/vfio-common.h
@@ -207,8 +207,8 @@ void vfio_spapr_container_deinit(VFIOContainer *container);
 void vfio_disable_irqindex(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index);
 void vfio_unmask_single_irqindex(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index);
 void vfio_mask_single_irqindex(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index);
-int vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
-                           int action, int fd, Error **errp);
+bool vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
+                            int action, int fd, Error **errp);
 void vfio_region_write(void *opaque, hwaddr addr,
                            uint64_t data, unsigned size);
 uint64_t vfio_region_read(void *opaque,
diff --git a/hw/vfio/ap.c b/hw/vfio/ap.c
index ba653ef70f..d8a9615fee 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/ap.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/ap.c
@@ -117,8 +117,8 @@ static bool vfio_ap_register_irq_notifier(VFIOAPDevice *vapdev,
     fd = event_notifier_get_fd(notifier);
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, fd_read, NULL, vapdev);
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(vdev, irq, 0, VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd,
-                               errp)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(vdev, irq, 0, VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd,
+                                errp)) {
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, vapdev);
         event_notifier_cleanup(notifier);
     }
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ static void vfio_ap_unregister_irq_notifier(VFIOAPDevice *vapdev,
         return;
     }
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vapdev->vdev, irq, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vapdev->vdev, irq, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
         warn_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vapdev->vdev.name);
     }
 
diff --git a/hw/vfio/ccw.c b/hw/vfio/ccw.c
index 89bb980167..1f578a3c75 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/ccw.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/ccw.c
@@ -434,8 +434,8 @@ static bool vfio_ccw_register_irq_notifier(VFIOCCWDevice *vcdev,
     fd = event_notifier_get_fd(notifier);
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, fd_read, NULL, vcdev);
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(vdev, irq, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, errp)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(vdev, irq, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, errp)) {
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, vcdev);
         event_notifier_cleanup(notifier);
     }
@@ -464,8 +464,8 @@ static void vfio_ccw_unregister_irq_notifier(VFIOCCWDevice *vcdev,
         return;
     }
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vcdev->vdev, irq, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vcdev->vdev, irq, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
         warn_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vcdev->vdev.name);
     }
 
diff --git a/hw/vfio/helpers.c b/hw/vfio/helpers.c
index 1f3bdd9bf0..9edbc96688 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/helpers.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/helpers.c
@@ -107,12 +107,12 @@ static const char *index_to_str(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index)
     }
 }
 
-int vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
-                           int action, int fd, Error **errp)
+bool vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
+                            int action, int fd, Error **errp)
 {
     ERRP_GUARD();
     g_autofree struct vfio_irq_set *irq_set = NULL;
-    int argsz, ret = 0;
+    int argsz;
     const char *name;
     int32_t *pfd;
 
@@ -127,15 +127,11 @@ int vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
     pfd = (int32_t *)&irq_set->data;
     *pfd = fd;
 
-    if (ioctl(vbasedev->fd, VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS, irq_set)) {
-        ret = -errno;
+    if (!ioctl(vbasedev->fd, VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS, irq_set)) {
+        return true;
     }
 
-    if (!ret) {
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    error_setg_errno(errp, -ret, "VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS failure");
+    error_setg_errno(errp, errno, "VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS failure");
 
     name = index_to_str(vbasedev, index);
     if (name) {
@@ -146,7 +142,7 @@ int vfio_set_irq_signaling(VFIODevice *vbasedev, int index, int subindex,
     error_prepend(errp,
                   "Failed to %s %s eventfd signaling for interrupt ",
                   fd < 0 ? "tear down" : "set up", action_to_str(action));
-    return ret;
+    return false;
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/hw/vfio/pci.c b/hw/vfio/pci.c
index a447013a1d..358da4497b 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/pci.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/pci.c
@@ -147,10 +147,10 @@ static void vfio_intx_enable_kvm(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev, Error **errp)
         goto fail_irqfd;
     }
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_INTX_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_UNMASK,
-                               event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->intx.unmask),
-                               errp)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_INTX_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_UNMASK,
+                                event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->intx.unmask),
+                                errp)) {
         goto fail_vfio;
     }
 
@@ -295,8 +295,8 @@ static int vfio_intx_enable(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev, Error **errp)
     fd = event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->intx.interrupt);
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, vfio_intx_interrupt, NULL, vdev);
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_INTX_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, errp)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_INTX_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, errp)) {
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, vdev);
         event_notifier_cleanup(&vdev->intx.interrupt);
         return -errno;
@@ -590,9 +590,10 @@ static int vfio_msix_vector_do_use(PCIDevice *pdev, unsigned int nr,
                 fd = event_notifier_get_fd(&vector->interrupt);
             }
 
-            if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev,
-                                       VFIO_PCI_MSIX_IRQ_INDEX, nr,
-                                       VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
+            if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev,
+                                        VFIO_PCI_MSIX_IRQ_INDEX, nr,
+                                        VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd,
+                                        &err)) {
                 error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
             }
         }
@@ -634,8 +635,9 @@ static void vfio_msix_vector_release(PCIDevice *pdev, unsigned int nr)
         int32_t fd = event_notifier_get_fd(&vector->interrupt);
         Error *err = NULL;
 
-        if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_MSIX_IRQ_INDEX, nr,
-                                   VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
+        if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_MSIX_IRQ_INDEX,
+                                    nr, VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd,
+                                    &err)) {
             error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
         }
     }
@@ -2873,8 +2875,8 @@ static void vfio_register_err_notifier(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev)
     fd = event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->err_notifier);
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, vfio_err_notifier_handler, NULL, vdev);
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_ERR_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_ERR_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, vdev);
         event_notifier_cleanup(&vdev->err_notifier);
@@ -2890,8 +2892,8 @@ static void vfio_unregister_err_notifier(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev)
         return;
     }
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_ERR_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_ERR_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
     }
     qemu_set_fd_handler(event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->err_notifier),
@@ -2938,8 +2940,8 @@ static void vfio_register_req_notifier(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev)
     fd = event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->req_notifier);
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, vfio_req_notifier_handler, NULL, vdev);
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_REQ_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                           VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_REQ_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, vdev);
         event_notifier_cleanup(&vdev->req_notifier);
@@ -2956,8 +2958,8 @@ static void vfio_unregister_req_notifier(VFIOPCIDevice *vdev)
         return;
     }
 
-    if (vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_REQ_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
-                               VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(&vdev->vbasedev, VFIO_PCI_REQ_IRQ_INDEX, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, -1, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vdev->vbasedev.name);
     }
     qemu_set_fd_handler(event_notifier_get_fd(&vdev->req_notifier),
diff --git a/hw/vfio/platform.c b/hw/vfio/platform.c
index 2bd16096bb..3233ca8691 100644
--- a/hw/vfio/platform.c
+++ b/hw/vfio/platform.c
@@ -115,18 +115,17 @@ static int vfio_set_trigger_eventfd(VFIOINTp *intp,
     VFIODevice *vbasedev = &intp->vdev->vbasedev;
     int32_t fd = event_notifier_get_fd(intp->interrupt);
     Error *err = NULL;
-    int ret;
 
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, (IOHandler *)handler, NULL, intp);
 
-    ret = vfio_set_irq_signaling(vbasedev, intp->pin, 0,
-                                 VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err);
-    if (ret) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(vbasedev, intp->pin, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_TRIGGER, fd, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vbasedev->name);
         qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+        return -EINVAL;
     }
 
-    return ret;
+    return 0;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -355,15 +354,14 @@ static int vfio_set_resample_eventfd(VFIOINTp *intp)
     int32_t fd = event_notifier_get_fd(intp->unmask);
     VFIODevice *vbasedev = &intp->vdev->vbasedev;
     Error *err = NULL;
-    int ret;
 
     qemu_set_fd_handler(fd, NULL, NULL, NULL);
-    ret = vfio_set_irq_signaling(vbasedev, intp->pin, 0,
-                                 VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_UNMASK, fd, &err);
-    if (ret) {
+    if (!vfio_set_irq_signaling(vbasedev, intp->pin, 0,
+                                VFIO_IRQ_SET_ACTION_UNMASK, fd, &err)) {
         error_reportf_err(err, VFIO_MSG_PREFIX, vbasedev->name);
+        return -EINVAL;
     }
-    return ret;
+    return 0;
 }
 
 /**
