diff --git a/hw/ppc/spapr_irq.c b/hw/ppc/spapr_irq.c
index ff3df0bbd8..d07aed8ca9 100644
--- a/hw/ppc/spapr_irq.c
+++ b/hw/ppc/spapr_irq.c
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ static void spapr_irq_init_kvm(SpaprMachineState *spapr,
          * emulated mode
          */
         error_prepend(&local_err, "kernel_irqchip allowed but unavailable: ");
+        error_append_hint(&local_err, "Falling back to kernel-irqchip=off\n");
         warn_report_err(local_err);
     }
 }