diff --git a/control/controlclient/direct.go b/control/controlclient/direct.go
index 52bc01652..9cbd0e14e 100644
--- a/control/controlclient/direct.go
+++ b/control/controlclient/direct.go
@@ -1229,7 +1229,7 @@ func loadServerPubKeys(ctx context.Context, httpc *http.Client, serverURL string
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("fetch control key response: %v", err)
 	}
 	if res.StatusCode != 200 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("fetch control key: %d", res.StatusCode)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("fetch control key: %v", res.Status)
 	}
 	var out tailcfg.OverTLSPublicKeyResponse
 	jsonErr := json.Unmarshal(b, &out)