diff --git a/src/network.sh b/src/network.sh
index fd8f7292..81c1fb20 100644
--- a/src/network.sh
+++ b/src/network.sh
@@ -84,7 +84,9 @@ configureDNS() {
   DNSMASQ_OPTS=$(echo "$DNSMASQ_OPTS" | sed 's/\t/ /g' | tr -s ' ' | sed 's/^ *//')
 
   [[ "$DEBUG" == [Yy1]* ]] && set -x
-  $DNSMASQ ${DNSMASQ_OPTS:+ $DNSMASQ_OPTS}
+  if ! $DNSMASQ ${DNSMASQ_OPTS:+ $DNSMASQ_OPTS}; then
+    error "Failed to start dnsmasq, reason: $?" && exit 29
+  fi
   { set +x; } 2>/dev/null
   [[ "$DEBUG" == [Yy1]* ]] && echo