diff --git a/tests/qtest/arm-cpu-features.c b/tests/qtest/arm-cpu-features.c
index 1cb08138ad..1555b0bab8 100644
--- a/tests/qtest/arm-cpu-features.c
+++ b/tests/qtest/arm-cpu-features.c
@@ -506,9 +506,15 @@ static void test_query_cpu_model_expansion_kvm(const void
*data)
QDict *resp;
char *error;
- assert_error(qts, "cortex-a15",
- "We cannot guarantee the CPU type 'cortex-a15' works "
- "with KVM on this host", NULL);
+ if (qtest_has_accel("tcg")) {
+ assert_error(qts, "cortex-a15",
+ "We cannot guarantee the CPU type 'cortex-a15' works "
+ "with KVM on this host", NULL);
+ } else {
+ assert_error(qts, "cortex-a15",
+ "The CPU type 'cortex-a15' is not a "
+ "recognized ARM CPU type", NULL);
+ }
assert_has_feature_enabled(qts, "host", "aarch64");