diff --git a/src/libcamera/pipeline/simple/simple.cpp b/src/libcamera/pipeline/simple/simple.cpp
index 0d48e1b6..df93bc8d 100644
--- a/src/libcamera/pipeline/simple/simple.cpp
+++ b/src/libcamera/pipeline/simple/simple.cpp
@@ -774,6 +774,7 @@ bool SimplePipelineHandler::match(DeviceEnumerator *enumerator)
 				<< "Failed to open converter, disabling format conversion";
 			delete converter_;
 			converter_ = nullptr;
+			return false;
 		}
 
 		converter_->bufferReady.connect(this, &SimplePipelineHandler::converterDone);