diff --git a/includes/solr_connection.inc b/includes/solr_connection.inc
index b8e5c9f..8b1c22b 100644
--- a/includes/solr_connection.inc
+++ b/includes/solr_connection.inc
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ class SearchApiSolrConnection implements SearchApiSolrConnectionInterface {
     }

     $result = drupal_http_request($url, $options);
-
+    $result->status_message = isset($result->status_message) ? $result->status_message : '';
     if (!isset($result->code) || $result->code < 0) {
       $result->code = 0;
       $result->status_message = 'Request failed';