diff --git a/examples/bbdev_app/main.c b/examples/bbdev_app/main.c
index 9acf666dc..3d36629a1 100644
--- a/examples/bbdev_app/main.c
+++ b/examples/bbdev_app/main.c
@@ -477,7 +477,12 @@ initialize_ports(struct app_config_params *app_params,
 		}
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	if (ret != 0) {
+		printf("Cannot enable promiscuous mode: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+			rte_strerror(-ret), port_id);
+		return ret;
+	}
 
 	rte_eth_macaddr_get(port_id, &bbdev_port_eth_addr);
 	print_mac(port_id, &bbdev_port_eth_addr);
diff --git a/examples/bond/main.c b/examples/bond/main.c
index be62c1713..39214cfee 100644
--- a/examples/bond/main.c
+++ b/examples/bond/main.c
@@ -299,7 +299,13 @@ bond_port_init(struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			rte_exit(-1, "\nFailed to activate slaves\n");
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(BOND_PORT);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(BOND_PORT);
+	if (retval != 0) {
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"port %u: promiscuous mode enable failed: %s\n",
+				BOND_PORT, rte_strerror(-retval));
+		return;
+	}
 
 	struct rte_ether_addr addr;
 
diff --git a/examples/distributor/main.c b/examples/distributor/main.c
index 8942f3607..125ee877f 100644
--- a/examples/distributor/main.c
+++ b/examples/distributor/main.c
@@ -194,7 +194,9 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[2], addr.addr_bytes[3],
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/eventdev_pipeline/main.c b/examples/eventdev_pipeline/main.c
index 3789fbfd7..c734c7750 100644
--- a/examples/eventdev_pipeline/main.c
+++ b/examples/eventdev_pipeline/main.c
@@ -333,7 +333,9 @@ port_init(uint8_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/exception_path/main.c b/examples/exception_path/main.c
index d7f3598af..f3c0206b5 100644
--- a/examples/exception_path/main.c
+++ b/examples/exception_path/main.c
@@ -473,7 +473,10 @@ init_port(uint16_t port)
 	if (ret < 0)
 		FATAL_ERROR("Could not start port%u (%d)", port, ret);
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		FATAL_ERROR("Could not enable promiscuous mode for port%u (%s)",
+			    port, rte_strerror(-ret));
 }
 
 /* Check the link status of all ports in up to 9s, and print them finally */
diff --git a/examples/flow_classify/flow_classify.c b/examples/flow_classify/flow_classify.c
index 2130c13d8..ae0faf621 100644
--- a/examples/flow_classify/flow_classify.c
+++ b/examples/flow_classify/flow_classify.c
@@ -251,7 +251,9 @@ port_init(uint8_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/flow_filtering/main.c b/examples/flow_filtering/main.c
index fe064fa02..c40cfd098 100644
--- a/examples/flow_filtering/main.c
+++ b/examples/flow_filtering/main.c
@@ -180,7 +180,12 @@ init_port(void)
 		}
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			":: promiscuous mode enable failed: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+			rte_strerror(-ret), port_id);
+
 	ret = rte_eth_dev_start(port_id);
 	if (ret < 0) {
 		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
diff --git a/examples/ip_fragmentation/main.c b/examples/ip_fragmentation/main.c
index 6b832445a..70139ee4d 100644
--- a/examples/ip_fragmentation/main.c
+++ b/examples/ip_fragmentation/main.c
@@ -1038,7 +1038,11 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE, "rte_eth_dev_start: err=%d, port=%d\n",
 				ret, portid);
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%d\n",
+				rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 
 		if (check_ptype(portid) == 0) {
 			rte_eth_add_rx_callback(portid, 0, cb_parse_ptype, NULL);
diff --git a/examples/ip_pipeline/link.c b/examples/ip_pipeline/link.c
index 4e3a40b5a..744abf394 100644
--- a/examples/ip_pipeline/link.c
+++ b/examples/ip_pipeline/link.c
@@ -176,8 +176,11 @@ link_create(const char *name, struct link_params *params)
 	if (status < 0)
 		return NULL;
 
-	if (params->promiscuous)
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	if (params->promiscuous) {
+		status = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+		if (status != 0)
+			return NULL;
+	}
 
 	/* Port RX */
 	for (i = 0; i < params->rx.n_queues; i++) {
diff --git a/examples/ip_reassembly/main.c b/examples/ip_reassembly/main.c
index 87d4b5c01..e810e9f3f 100644
--- a/examples/ip_reassembly/main.c
+++ b/examples/ip_reassembly/main.c
@@ -1169,7 +1169,11 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE, "rte_eth_dev_start: err=%d, port=%d\n",
 				ret, portid);
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%d\n",
+				rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 	}
 
 	if (init_routing_table() < 0)
diff --git a/examples/ipsec-secgw/ipsec-secgw.c b/examples/ipsec-secgw/ipsec-secgw.c
index 534830a8e..8154fc76a 100644
--- a/examples/ipsec-secgw/ipsec-secgw.c
+++ b/examples/ipsec-secgw/ipsec-secgw.c
@@ -2467,8 +2467,13 @@ main(int32_t argc, char **argv)
 		 * to itself through 2 cross-connected  ports of the
 		 * target machine.
 		 */
-		if (promiscuous_on)
-			rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (promiscuous_on) {
+			ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+			if (ret != 0)
+				rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+					"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%d\n",
+					rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+		}
 
 		rte_eth_dev_callback_register(portid,
 			RTE_ETH_EVENT_IPSEC, inline_ipsec_event_callback, NULL);
diff --git a/examples/l2fwd-cat/l2fwd-cat.c b/examples/l2fwd-cat/l2fwd-cat.c
index b34b40a00..b15f0330b 100644
--- a/examples/l2fwd-cat/l2fwd-cat.c
+++ b/examples/l2fwd-cat/l2fwd-cat.c
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/l2fwd-crypto/main.c b/examples/l2fwd-crypto/main.c
index 9a370f2de..c4ef31031 100644
--- a/examples/l2fwd-crypto/main.c
+++ b/examples/l2fwd-crypto/main.c
@@ -2574,7 +2574,12 @@ initialize_ports(struct l2fwd_crypto_options *options)
 			return -1;
 		}
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (retval != 0) {
+			printf("rte_eth_promiscuous_enable:err=%s, port=%u\n",
+				rte_strerror(-retval), portid);
+			return -1;
+		}
 
 		rte_eth_macaddr_get(portid, &l2fwd_ports_eth_addr[portid]);
 
diff --git a/examples/l2fwd-jobstats/main.c b/examples/l2fwd-jobstats/main.c
index 5fcba5c88..3dd6e45b8 100644
--- a/examples/l2fwd-jobstats/main.c
+++ b/examples/l2fwd-jobstats/main.c
@@ -916,7 +916,14 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 		printf("done:\n");
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0) {
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				 "rte_eth_promiscuous_enable:err=%s, port=%u\n",
+				 rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+			return ret;
+
+		}
 
 		printf("Port %u, MAC address: %02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X\n\n",
 				portid,
diff --git a/examples/l2fwd-keepalive/main.c b/examples/l2fwd-keepalive/main.c
index a05139068..708f44ee0 100644
--- a/examples/l2fwd-keepalive/main.c
+++ b/examples/l2fwd-keepalive/main.c
@@ -709,7 +709,11 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 				"rte_eth_dev_start:err=%d, port=%u\n",
 				  ret, portid);
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				 "rte_eth_promiscuous_enable:err=%s, port=%u\n",
+				 rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 
 		printf("Port %u, MAC address: "
 			"%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X\n\n",
diff --git a/examples/l2fwd/main.c b/examples/l2fwd/main.c
index 8d4c53981..db070a18b 100644
--- a/examples/l2fwd/main.c
+++ b/examples/l2fwd/main.c
@@ -708,7 +708,11 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 		printf("done: \n");
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				 "rte_eth_promiscuous_enable:err=%s, port=%u\n",
+				 rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 
 		printf("Port %u, MAC address: %02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X\n\n",
 				portid,
diff --git a/examples/l3fwd-acl/main.c b/examples/l3fwd-acl/main.c
index 60531ce0e..c974a357b 100644
--- a/examples/l3fwd-acl/main.c
+++ b/examples/l3fwd-acl/main.c
@@ -2085,8 +2085,13 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		 * to itself through 2 cross-connected  ports of the
 		 * target machine.
 		 */
-		if (promiscuous_on)
-			rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (promiscuous_on) {
+			ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+			if (ret != 0)
+				rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+					"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+					rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+		}
 	}
 
 	check_all_ports_link_status(enabled_port_mask);
diff --git a/examples/l3fwd-power/main.c b/examples/l3fwd-power/main.c
index bfcaa46c5..8ddc9ceb1 100644
--- a/examples/l3fwd-power/main.c
+++ b/examples/l3fwd-power/main.c
@@ -2453,8 +2453,13 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		 * to itself through 2 cross-connected  ports of the
 		 * target machine.
 		 */
-		if (promiscuous_on)
-			rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (promiscuous_on) {
+			ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+			if (ret != 0)
+				rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+					"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+					rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+		}
 		/* initialize spinlock for each port */
 		rte_spinlock_init(&(locks[portid]));
 	}
diff --git a/examples/l3fwd/main.c b/examples/l3fwd/main.c
index 3294ac2da..9ed495ee0 100644
--- a/examples/l3fwd/main.c
+++ b/examples/l3fwd/main.c
@@ -1035,8 +1035,13 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		 * to itself through 2 cross-connected  ports of the
 		 * target machine.
 		 */
-		if (promiscuous_on)
-			rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (promiscuous_on) {
+			ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+			if (ret != 0)
+				rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+					"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+					rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+		}
 	}
 
 	printf("\n");
diff --git a/examples/link_status_interrupt/main.c b/examples/link_status_interrupt/main.c
index 0c3dfc691..be57e6a98 100644
--- a/examples/link_status_interrupt/main.c
+++ b/examples/link_status_interrupt/main.c
@@ -689,7 +689,11 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 				  ret, (unsigned) portid);
 		printf("done:\n");
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+				rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 
 		printf("Port %u, MAC address: %02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X:%02X\n\n",
 				(unsigned) portid,
diff --git a/examples/load_balancer/init.c b/examples/load_balancer/init.c
index 660f5a8ed..4d49c9514 100644
--- a/examples/load_balancer/init.c
+++ b/examples/load_balancer/init.c
@@ -440,7 +440,11 @@ app_init_nics(void)
 		if (ret < 0) {
 			rte_panic("Cannot init NIC port %u (%d)\n", port, ret);
 		}
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+
+		ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+		if (ret != 0)
+			rte_panic("Cannot enable promiscuous mode on port %u (%s)\n",
+				port, rte_strerror(-ret));
 
 		nic_rx_ring_size = app.nic_rx_ring_size;
 		nic_tx_ring_size = app.nic_tx_ring_size;
diff --git a/examples/multi_process/client_server_mp/mp_server/init.c b/examples/multi_process/client_server_mp/mp_server/init.c
index 3af5dc699..e55def84b 100644
--- a/examples/multi_process/client_server_mp/mp_server/init.c
+++ b/examples/multi_process/client_server_mp/mp_server/init.c
@@ -132,7 +132,9 @@ init_port(uint16_t port_num)
 		if (retval < 0) return retval;
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_num);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_num);
+	if (retval < 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	retval  = rte_eth_dev_start(port_num);
 	if (retval < 0) return retval;
diff --git a/examples/multi_process/symmetric_mp/main.c b/examples/multi_process/symmetric_mp/main.c
index 9ae8efb0b..95058a5dc 100644
--- a/examples/multi_process/symmetric_mp/main.c
+++ b/examples/multi_process/symmetric_mp/main.c
@@ -261,7 +261,9 @@ smp_port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool,
 			return retval;
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	retval  = rte_eth_dev_start(port);
 	if (retval < 0)
diff --git a/examples/netmap_compat/bridge/bridge.c b/examples/netmap_compat/bridge/bridge.c
index d40e163b0..f3819d222 100644
--- a/examples/netmap_compat/bridge/bridge.c
+++ b/examples/netmap_compat/bridge/bridge.c
@@ -261,7 +261,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE, "Couldn't setup port %hhu\n",
 				ports.p[i].id);
 
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(ports.p[i].id);
+		err = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(ports.p[i].id);
+		if (err != 0)
+			rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+				"Couldn't enable promiscuous mode on port %u: %s\n",
+				ports.p[i].id, rte_strerror(-err));
 	}
 
 	for (i = 0; i != ports.num; i++) {
diff --git a/examples/packet_ordering/main.c b/examples/packet_ordering/main.c
index a99961f82..132f582a9 100644
--- a/examples/packet_ordering/main.c
+++ b/examples/packet_ordering/main.c
@@ -330,7 +330,9 @@ configure_eth_port(uint16_t port_id)
 			addr.addr_bytes[2], addr.addr_bytes[3],
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		return ret;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/performance-thread/l3fwd-thread/main.c b/examples/performance-thread/l3fwd-thread/main.c
index 00f535053..9e25f064e 100644
--- a/examples/performance-thread/l3fwd-thread/main.c
+++ b/examples/performance-thread/l3fwd-thread/main.c
@@ -3706,8 +3706,13 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		 * to itself through 2 cross-connected  ports of the
 		 * target machine.
 		 */
-		if (promiscuous_on)
-			rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+		if (promiscuous_on) {
+			ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+			if (ret != 0)
+				rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+					"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+					rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+		}
 	}
 
 	for (i = 0; i < n_rx_thread; i++) {
diff --git a/examples/ptpclient/ptpclient.c b/examples/ptpclient/ptpclient.c
index bc427a526..6e273f644 100644
--- a/examples/ptpclient/ptpclient.c
+++ b/examples/ptpclient/ptpclient.c
@@ -247,7 +247,12 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 	}
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0) {
+		printf("Promiscuous mode enable failed: %s\n",
+			rte_strerror(-retval));
+		return retval;
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/qos_meter/main.c b/examples/qos_meter/main.c
index 13c85e940..e8112c83a 100644
--- a/examples/qos_meter/main.c
+++ b/examples/qos_meter/main.c
@@ -439,9 +439,17 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (ret < 0)
 		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE, "Port %d start error (%d)\n", port_tx, ret);
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_rx);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_rx);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			"Port %d promiscuous mode enable error (%s)\n",
+			port_rx, rte_strerror(-ret));
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_tx);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_tx);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			"Port %d promiscuous mode enable error (%s)\n",
+			port_rx, rte_strerror(-ret));
 
 	/* App configuration */
 	ret = app_configure_flow_table();
diff --git a/examples/qos_sched/init.c b/examples/qos_sched/init.c
index cf9e8f4ac..dbdbdefea 100644
--- a/examples/qos_sched/init.c
+++ b/examples/qos_sched/init.c
@@ -163,7 +163,11 @@ app_init_port(uint16_t portid, struct rte_mempool *mp)
 	} else {
 		printf(" Link Down\n");
 	}
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(portid);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			"rte_eth_promiscuous_enable: err=%s, port=%u\n",
+			rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
 
 	/* mark port as initialized */
 	app_inited_port_mask |= 1u << portid;
diff --git a/examples/quota_watermark/qw/init.c b/examples/quota_watermark/qw/init.c
index 5a0f64f45..5ebcc83ac 100644
--- a/examples/quota_watermark/qw/init.c
+++ b/examples/quota_watermark/qw/init.c
@@ -103,7 +103,11 @@ void configure_eth_port(uint16_t port_id)
 				(unsigned int) port_id, ret);
 
 	/* Put it in promiscuous mode */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	ret = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_id);
+	if (ret != 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE,
+			"Failed to enable promiscuous mode for port %u: %s\n",
+			port_id, rte_strerror(-ret));
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/examples/rxtx_callbacks/main.c b/examples/rxtx_callbacks/main.c
index 9fd4b8efd..5d545115c 100644
--- a/examples/rxtx_callbacks/main.c
+++ b/examples/rxtx_callbacks/main.c
@@ -196,7 +196,10 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[2], addr.addr_bytes[3],
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
+
 	rte_eth_add_rx_callback(port, 0, add_timestamps, NULL);
 	rte_eth_add_tx_callback(port, 0, calc_latency, NULL);
 
diff --git a/examples/server_node_efd/server/init.c b/examples/server_node_efd/server/init.c
index 773780b4d..335741a8f 100644
--- a/examples/server_node_efd/server/init.c
+++ b/examples/server_node_efd/server/init.c
@@ -150,7 +150,9 @@ init_port(uint16_t port_num)
 			return retval;
 	}
 
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_num);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port_num);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	retval = rte_eth_dev_start(port_num);
 	if (retval < 0)
diff --git a/examples/skeleton/basicfwd.c b/examples/skeleton/basicfwd.c
index 171ebde7b..8f1805aeb 100644
--- a/examples/skeleton/basicfwd.c
+++ b/examples/skeleton/basicfwd.c
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/examples/vhost/main.c b/examples/vhost/main.c
index 794d12ba7..b5632d771 100644
--- a/examples/vhost/main.c
+++ b/examples/vhost/main.c
@@ -336,8 +336,15 @@ port_init(uint16_t port)
 		return retval;
 	}
 
-	if (promiscuous)
-		rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (promiscuous) {
+		retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+		if (retval != 0) {
+			RTE_LOG(ERR, VHOST_PORT,
+				"Failed to enable promiscuous mode on port %u: %s\n",
+				port, rte_strerror(-retval));
+			return retval;
+		}
+	}
 
 	rte_eth_macaddr_get(port, &vmdq_ports_eth_addr[port]);
 	RTE_LOG(INFO, VHOST_PORT, "Max virtio devices supported: %u\n", num_devices);
diff --git a/examples/vm_power_manager/main.c b/examples/vm_power_manager/main.c
index 0f48ae926..3778b538c 100644
--- a/examples/vm_power_manager/main.c
+++ b/examples/vm_power_manager/main.c
@@ -121,7 +121,9 @@ port_init(uint16_t port, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool)
 			addr.addr_bytes[4], addr.addr_bytes[5]);
 
 	/* Enable RX in promiscuous mode for the Ethernet device. */
-	rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	retval = rte_eth_promiscuous_enable(port);
+	if (retval != 0)
+		return retval;
 
 
 	return 0;
