diff --git a/bigtable/admin.go b/bigtable/admin.go
index fe20259595fe..d606110465bb 100644
--- a/bigtable/admin.go
+++ b/bigtable/admin.go
@@ -1091,7 +1091,7 @@ func (iac *InstanceAdminClient) UpdateInstanceWithClusters(ctx context.Context,
 				return fmt.Errorf("UpdateCluster %q failed %w; however UpdateInstance succeeded",
 					cluster.ClusterID, clusterErr)
 			}
-			return err
+			return clusterErr
 		}
 	}