diff --git a/case-lib/lib.sh b/case-lib/lib.sh
index 0fa1e6ad7..3d84e53b9 100644
--- a/case-lib/lib.sh
+++ b/case-lib/lib.sh
@@ -177,6 +177,20 @@ find_ldc_file()
     printf '%s' "$ldcFile"
 }
 
+# -B 2 shows the header line when the first etrace message is an ERROR
+# -A 1 shows whether the ERROR is last or not.
+check_logger_error()
+{
+    test -r "$1" || {
+        dloge "logfile NOT FOUND: '$1'"
+        return 1
+    }
+
+    if grep -B 2 -A 1 -E '[[:blank:]]ERRO?R?[[:blank:]]' "$1"; then
+       return 1
+    fi
+}
+
 SOF_LOG_COLLECT=0
 # This function starts a logger in the background using '&'
 #
diff --git a/test-case/check-sof-logger.sh b/test-case/check-sof-logger.sh
index db3d42d38..3440e6060 100755
--- a/test-case/check-sof-logger.sh
+++ b/test-case/check-sof-logger.sh
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ run_loggers()
 
     if is_zephyr; then
         dlogi "Skipping etrace for now because it's totally different with Zephyr"
+        sudo touch "$etrace_stderr_file" "$etrace_file"
         return 0
     fi
 
@@ -224,8 +225,31 @@ main()
         }
     done
 
+    local platf; platf=$(sof-dump-status.py -p)
+    local ERROR_scan=true
+    local OK=true
+
+    case "$platf" in
+        byt|bdw)
+            dlogw 'not looking for ERROR on BYT/BDW because of known DMA issues #4333 and others'
+            ERROR_scan=false
+            ;;
+    esac
+
+    if $ERROR_scan; then
+    for f in "${stdout_files[@]}"; do
+        local tracef="$LOG_ROOT/logger.$f.txt"
+        check_logger_error "$tracef" || {
+            OK=false; printf '\n'
+        }
+    done; fi
+
     # Show all outputs even when everything went OK
-    print_logs_exit 0
+    if $OK; then
+        print_logs_exit 0
+    else
+        print_logs_exit 1 "^^ ERROR(s) found in firmware logs ^^"
+    fi
 }
 
 main "$@"