diff --git a/scanner.py b/scanner.py
index bbb0608..dcd90ff 100644
--- a/scanner.py
+++ b/scanner.py
@@ -1721,7 +1721,7 @@ def _is_faulty_coordinate(self, x, y, add_offsets=False):
     def _check_hardware(self, sample):
         # Validate sample input
         if "data" not in sample or "freq" not in sample:
-            raise ValueError("Sample must contain 'data' and 'freq' keys.")
+            raise self._mcu.error("Sample must contain 'data' and 'freq' keys.")
 
         # Initialize variables on the first call
         if not hasattr(self, "freq_window"):