diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index ecc288aa2a..5d2883f559 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -576,13 +576,7 @@ impl Cfg {
                     if !all_toolchains.iter().any(|s| s == toolchain_name) {
                         // The given name is not resolvable as a toolchain, so
                         // instead check it's plausible for installation later
-                        dist::validate_channel_name(&toolchain_name).chain_err(|| {
-                            format!(
-                                "invalid channel name '{}' in '{}'",
-                                toolchain_name,
-                                toolchain_file.display()
-                            )
-                        })?;
+                        dist::validate_channel_name(&toolchain_name)?;
                     }
                 }
 
diff --git a/tests/cli-rustup.rs b/tests/cli-rustup.rs
index 5bf26882a7..be41f8278b 100644
--- a/tests/cli-rustup.rs
+++ b/tests/cli-rustup.rs
@@ -1735,7 +1735,7 @@ fn bad_file_override() {
         expect_err(
             config,
             &["rustc", "--version"],
-            "invalid channel name 'gumbo' in",
+            "invalid toolchain name: 'gumbo'",
         );
     });
 }