diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/facts.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/facts.py
index c056404210f..4c3e5ad5582 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/facts.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/facts.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ except ImportError:
 class TimeoutError(Exception):
     pass
 
-def timeout(seconds=10, error_message=os.strerror(errno.ETIME)):
+def timeout(seconds=10, error_message="Timer expired"):
     def decorator(func):
         def _handle_timeout(signum, frame):
             raise TimeoutError(error_message)