diff --git a/hw/block/nvme.c b/hw/block/nvme.c
index c73afdf805..35f39ecd95 100644
--- a/hw/block/nvme.c
+++ b/hw/block/nvme.c
@@ -1150,7 +1150,7 @@ static uint16_t nvme_check_zone_write(NvmeCtrl *n, NvmeNamespace *ns,
         if (append) {
             if (unlikely(slba != zone->d.zslba)) {
                 trace_pci_nvme_err_append_not_at_start(slba, zone->d.zslba);
-                status = NVME_ZONE_INVALID_WRITE;
+                status = NVME_INVALID_FIELD;
             }
             if (nvme_l2b(ns, nlb) > (n->page_size << n->zasl)) {
                 trace_pci_nvme_err_append_too_large(slba, nlb, n->zasl);