diff --git a/libs/libc/uio/lib_writev.c b/libs/libc/uio/lib_writev.c
index f35561bda7..02b9fc0326 100644
--- a/libs/libc/uio/lib_writev.c
+++ b/libs/libc/uio/lib_writev.c
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ ssize_t writev(int fildes, FAR const struct iovec *iov, int iovcnt)
                       set_errno(save);
                     }
 
-                  return ERROR;
+                  return ntotal ? ntotal : ERROR;
                 }
 
               /* Update pointers and counts in order to handle partial