diff --git a/pkg/logcli/query/query.go b/pkg/logcli/query/query.go
index 268def0bab685..1513180444460 100644
--- a/pkg/logcli/query/query.go
+++ b/pkg/logcli/query/query.go
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ func getLatestConfig(client chunk.ObjectClient, orgID string) (*config.SchemaCon
 	if err != errNotExists {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return nil, errNotExists
+	return nil, errors.New("could not find a schema config file matching any of the known patterns. First verify --org-id is correct. Then check the root of the bucket for a file with `schemaconfig` in the name. If no such file exists it may need to be created or re-synced from the source.")
 }
 
 // DoLocalQuery executes the query against the local store using a Loki configuration file.