diff --git a/software/firmware/file_utils.py b/software/firmware/file_utils.py
index 576e72cda..ad8e642ca 100644
--- a/software/firmware/file_utils.py
+++ b/software/firmware/file_utils.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import errno
 import os
 import json
 
@@ -36,7 +37,10 @@ def load_json_file(filename, mode="r") -> dict:
         print(f"Unable to parse JSON data from {filename}: {e}")
         return {}
     except OSError as e:
-        print(f"Unable to read JSON data from {filename}: {e}")
+        if e.errno == errno.ENOENT:
+            print(f"/{filename} does not exist. Using default settings")
+        else:
+            print(f"Unable to open {filename}: {e}")
         return {}