diff --git a/drivers/net/e1000/em_rxtx.c b/drivers/net/e1000/em_rxtx.c
index 087e68304c..a9cd765186 100644
--- a/drivers/net/e1000/em_rxtx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/e1000/em_rxtx.c
@@ -1417,12 +1417,13 @@ eth_em_rx_queue_setup(struct rte_eth_dev *dev,
 	}
 
 	/*
-	 * EM devices don't support drop_en functionality
+	 * EM devices don't support drop_en functionality.
+	 * It's an optimization that does nothing on single-queue devices,
+	 * so just log the issue and carry on.
 	 */
 	if (rx_conf->rx_drop_en) {
-		PMD_INIT_LOG(ERR, "drop_en functionality not supported by "
+		PMD_INIT_LOG(NOTICE, "drop_en functionality not supported by "
 			     "device");
-		return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
 	/* Free memory prior to re-allocation if needed. */