diff --git a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen.h b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen.h
index b0c4c57e66a2f8db507eef43d0cfe1a0e4783206..9699abfb438725fb6fbe3f1454820c59c36a1711 100644
--- a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen.h
+++ b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen.h
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ class CoreCodegen : public CoreCodegenInterface {
 
   void grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer* bb) GRPC_OVERRIDE;
 
-  void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
-                                    grpc_byte_buffer* buffer) GRPC_OVERRIDE;
+  int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
+                                   grpc_byte_buffer* buffer) GRPC_OVERRIDE;
   void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader)
       GRPC_OVERRIDE;
   int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
diff --git a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen_interface.h b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen_interface.h
index 64d882ed5db10b68a371f21201b054e933819824..f9a8f9b980b9bb5d06dff63d70118361b95555e9 100644
--- a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen_interface.h
+++ b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/core_codegen_interface.h
@@ -65,8 +65,9 @@ class CoreCodegenInterface {
 
   virtual void grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer* bb) = 0;
 
-  virtual void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
-                                            grpc_byte_buffer* buffer) = 0;
+  virtual int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
+                                           grpc_byte_buffer* buffer)
+      GRPC_MUST_USE_RESULT = 0;
   virtual void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(
       grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader) = 0;
   virtual int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
diff --git a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/proto_utils.h b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/proto_utils.h
index 3bad468a74e94d9219fd44d20d1dee31ef0d9d6b..d4599c5ffff5842b578c57e02b6c45347aba7b60 100644
--- a/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/proto_utils.h
+++ b/include/grpc++/impl/codegen/proto_utils.h
@@ -111,14 +111,21 @@ class GrpcBufferReader GRPC_FINAL
     : public ::grpc::protobuf::io::ZeroCopyInputStream {
  public:
   explicit GrpcBufferReader(grpc_byte_buffer* buffer)
-      : byte_count_(0), backup_count_(0) {
-    g_core_codegen_interface->grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader_, buffer);
+      : byte_count_(0), backup_count_(0), status_() {
+    if (!g_core_codegen_interface->grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader_,
+                                                                buffer)) {
+      status_ = Status(StatusCode::INTERNAL,
+                       "Couldn't initialize byte buffer reader");
+    }
   }
   ~GrpcBufferReader() GRPC_OVERRIDE {
     g_core_codegen_interface->grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(&reader_);
   }
 
   bool Next(const void** data, int* size) GRPC_OVERRIDE {
+    if (!status_.ok()) {
+      return false;
+    }
     if (backup_count_ > 0) {
       *data = GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(slice_) + GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(slice_) -
               backup_count_;
@@ -139,6 +146,8 @@ class GrpcBufferReader GRPC_FINAL
     return true;
   }
 
+  Status status() const { return status_; }
+
   void BackUp(int count) GRPC_OVERRIDE { backup_count_ = count; }
 
   bool Skip(int count) GRPC_OVERRIDE {
@@ -165,6 +174,7 @@ class GrpcBufferReader GRPC_FINAL
   int64_t backup_count_;
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader_;
   gpr_slice slice_;
+  Status status_;
 };
 }  // namespace internal
 
@@ -202,6 +212,9 @@ class SerializationTraits<T, typename std::enable_if<std::is_base_of<
     Status result = g_core_codegen_interface->ok();
     {
       internal::GrpcBufferReader reader(buffer);
+      if (!reader.status().ok()) {
+        return reader.status();
+      }
       ::grpc::protobuf::io::CodedInputStream decoder(&reader);
       if (max_message_size > 0) {
         decoder.SetTotalBytesLimit(max_message_size, max_message_size);
diff --git a/include/grpc++/support/byte_buffer.h b/include/grpc++/support/byte_buffer.h
index f6eb09638f5b15137ba8cbbfee9451adeb880371..20bd4071091276ffc238c013a75a87e3354570c2 100644
--- a/include/grpc++/support/byte_buffer.h
+++ b/include/grpc++/support/byte_buffer.h
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class ByteBuffer GRPC_FINAL {
   ByteBuffer& operator=(const ByteBuffer&);
 
   /// Dump (read) the buffer contents into \a slices.
-  void Dump(std::vector<Slice>* slices) const;
+  Status Dump(std::vector<Slice>* slices) const;
 
   /// Remove all data.
   void Clear();
diff --git a/include/grpc/impl/codegen/byte_buffer.h b/include/grpc/impl/codegen/byte_buffer.h
index 3ae8ac50ba1ebb49e4217d552ff1d0b6005ffcd1..fe1e2159793bce21ec1186389fec965b0cc0bed4 100644
--- a/include/grpc/impl/codegen/byte_buffer.h
+++ b/include/grpc/impl/codegen/byte_buffer.h
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /*
  *
- * Copyright 2015, Google Inc.
+ * Copyright 2015-2016, Google Inc.
  * All rights reserved.
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
@@ -93,9 +93,10 @@ GRPCAPI void grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer *byte_buffer);
 struct grpc_byte_buffer_reader;
 typedef struct grpc_byte_buffer_reader grpc_byte_buffer_reader;
 
-/** Initialize \a reader to read over \a buffer */
-GRPCAPI void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
-                                          grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
+/** Initialize \a reader to read over \a buffer.
+ * Returns 1 upon success, 0 otherwise. */
+GRPCAPI int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
+                                         grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
 
 /** Cleanup and destroy \a reader */
 GRPCAPI void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader);
diff --git a/src/core/lib/surface/byte_buffer_reader.c b/src/core/lib/surface/byte_buffer_reader.c
index c97079f6385bfbb96375bf4d6950ec6cecdd3b0c..310bacb2c944ed5fe3d8091b16377d4b2b47e42f 100644
--- a/src/core/lib/surface/byte_buffer_reader.c
+++ b/src/core/lib/surface/byte_buffer_reader.c
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ static int is_compressed(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) {
   return 1 /* GPR_TRUE */;
 }
 
-void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
-                                  grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) {
+int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
+                                 grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) {
   gpr_slice_buffer decompressed_slices_buffer;
   reader->buffer_in = buffer;
   switch (reader->buffer_in->type) {
@@ -67,9 +67,10 @@ void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
                                 &decompressed_slices_buffer) == 0) {
           gpr_log(GPR_ERROR,
                   "Unexpected error decompressing data for algorithm with enum "
-                  "value '%d'. Reading data as if it were uncompressed.",
+                  "value '%d'.",
                   reader->buffer_in->data.raw.compression);
-          reader->buffer_out = reader->buffer_in;
+          memset(reader, 0, sizeof(*reader));
+          return 0;
         } else { /* all fine */
           reader->buffer_out =
               grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(decompressed_slices_buffer.slices,
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
       reader->current.index = 0;
       break;
   }
+  return 1;
 }
 
 void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader) {
diff --git a/src/cpp/common/core_codegen.cc b/src/cpp/common/core_codegen.cc
index cc35aa69bab12c7b1980c3eb4761decf96ff8d8c..3d6780bcb8c4f8a573510e31062f480432460e92 100644
--- a/src/cpp/common/core_codegen.cc
+++ b/src/cpp/common/core_codegen.cc
@@ -74,9 +74,9 @@ void CoreCodegen::grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer* bb) {
   ::grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(bb);
 }
 
-void CoreCodegen::grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
-                                               grpc_byte_buffer* buffer) {
-  ::grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(reader, buffer);
+int CoreCodegen::grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader* reader,
+                                              grpc_byte_buffer* buffer) {
+  return ::grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(reader, buffer);
 }
 
 void CoreCodegen::grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(
diff --git a/src/cpp/util/byte_buffer.cc b/src/cpp/util/byte_buffer.cc
index c0a14de418af5022bf67ff52dc9350104a960f4a..c2cd20ee07f0a07af63a2b8b918c3da7e685dbf0 100644
--- a/src/cpp/util/byte_buffer.cc
+++ b/src/cpp/util/byte_buffer.cc
@@ -58,18 +58,22 @@ void ByteBuffer::Clear() {
   }
 }
 
-void ByteBuffer::Dump(std::vector<Slice>* slices) const {
+Status ByteBuffer::Dump(std::vector<Slice>* slices) const {
   slices->clear();
   if (!buffer_) {
-    return;
+    return Status(StatusCode::FAILED_PRECONDITION, "Buffer not initialized");
   }
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer_);
+  if (!grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer_)) {
+    return Status(StatusCode::INTERNAL,
+                  "Couldn't initialize byte buffer reader");
+  }
   gpr_slice s;
   while (grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &s)) {
     slices->push_back(Slice(s, Slice::STEAL_REF));
   }
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(&reader);
+  return Status::OK;
 }
 
 size_t ByteBuffer::Length() const {
diff --git a/src/csharp/ext/grpc_csharp_ext.c b/src/csharp/ext/grpc_csharp_ext.c
index 9b8d050ea5154735074bc26f0fe953c40d2c0a07..c670ea65c79995877789e2f03691bfa64b1c4414 100644
--- a/src/csharp/ext/grpc_csharp_ext.c
+++ b/src/csharp/ext/grpc_csharp_ext.c
@@ -253,6 +253,7 @@ GPR_EXPORT intptr_t GPR_CALLTYPE grpcsharp_batch_context_recv_message_length(
   if (!ctx->recv_message) {
     return -1;
   }
+  /* TODO(issue:#7206): check return value of grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init. */
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, ctx->recv_message);
   return (intptr_t)grpc_byte_buffer_length(reader.buffer_out);
 }
@@ -267,6 +268,7 @@ GPR_EXPORT void GPR_CALLTYPE grpcsharp_batch_context_recv_message_to_buffer(
   gpr_slice slice;
   size_t offset = 0;
 
+  /* TODO(issue:#7206): check return value of grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init. */
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, ctx->recv_message);
 
   while (grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &slice)) {
diff --git a/src/node/ext/byte_buffer.cc b/src/node/ext/byte_buffer.cc
index 3479a67702976377e58373bd8618d2aa7ac720fe..a3f678f32c610e13d6cb151086e8a6b8b2bb7297 100644
--- a/src/node/ext/byte_buffer.cc
+++ b/src/node/ext/byte_buffer.cc
@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@ Local<Value> ByteBufferToBuffer(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) {
     return scope.Escape(Nan::Null());
   }
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  if (!grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer)) {
+    Nan::ThrowError("Error initializing byte buffer reader.");
+    return scope.Escape(Nan::Undefined());
+  }
   gpr_slice slice = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_readall(&reader);
   size_t length = GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(slice);
   char *result = new char[length];
diff --git a/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/private/NSData+GRPC.m b/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/private/NSData+GRPC.m
index 1238374af3d1e2dfc9d7f62fc9aee1637505ff9d..98337799e919997b98b1818c657e1f88396f8dfe 100644
--- a/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/private/NSData+GRPC.m
+++ b/src/objective-c/GRPCClient/private/NSData+GRPC.m
@@ -42,7 +42,15 @@
 static void MallocAndCopyByteBufferToCharArray(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer,
                                                size_t *length, char **array) {
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  if (!grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer)) {
+    // grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init can fail if the data sent by the server
+    // could not be decompressed for any reason. This is an issue with the data
+    // coming from the server and thus we want the RPC to fail with error code
+    // INTERNAL.
+    *array = NULL;
+    *length = 0;
+    return;
+  }
   // The slice contains uncompressed data even if compressed data was received
   // because the reader takes care of automatically decompressing it
   gpr_slice slice = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_readall(&reader);
diff --git a/src/php/ext/grpc/byte_buffer.c b/src/php/ext/grpc/byte_buffer.c
index 7a726de5db48b1b103ad360fbf1bd1d86728a376..2bf9e003050a522aed1d7ce00c3ac3b0c92ff7f3 100644
--- a/src/php/ext/grpc/byte_buffer.c
+++ b/src/php/ext/grpc/byte_buffer.c
@@ -58,7 +58,9 @@ grpc_byte_buffer *string_to_byte_buffer(char *string, size_t length) {
 
 void byte_buffer_to_string(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer, char **out_string,
                            size_t *out_length) {
-  if (buffer == NULL) {
+  grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
+  if (buffer == NULL || !grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer)) {
+    /* TODO(dgq): distinguish between the error cases. */
     *out_string = NULL;
     *out_length = 0;
     return;
@@ -66,8 +68,6 @@ void byte_buffer_to_string(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer, char **out_string,
   size_t length = grpc_byte_buffer_length(buffer);
   char *string = ecalloc(length + 1, sizeof(char));
   size_t offset = 0;
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
   gpr_slice next;
   while (grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &next) != 0) {
     memcpy(string + offset, GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(next), GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(next));
diff --git a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/grpc.pxi b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/grpc.pxi
index f3b3d612736536817191f59335614fb321c92ec8..7714504d1bb805278ff841cbb14f6042467ab736 100644
--- a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/grpc.pxi
+++ b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/grpc.pxi
@@ -132,8 +132,8 @@ cdef extern from "grpc/_cython/loader.h":
   size_t grpc_byte_buffer_length(grpc_byte_buffer *bb) nogil
   void grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer *byte_buffer) nogil
 
-  void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
-                                    grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) nogil
+  int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
+                                   grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) nogil
   int grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader,
                                    gpr_slice *slice) nogil
   void grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader) nogil
diff --git a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/records.pyx.pxi b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/records.pyx.pxi
index 8e651e880f3de3b29bbe9921cc4e5206377df32d..b39b2f08de769bc115df3e533ce74d73a9f2a9e1 100644
--- a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/records.pyx.pxi
+++ b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/_cygrpc/records.pyx.pxi
@@ -252,9 +252,13 @@ cdef class ByteBuffer:
     cdef gpr_slice data_slice
     cdef size_t data_slice_length
     cdef void *data_slice_pointer
+    cdef bint reader_status
     if self.c_byte_buffer != NULL:
       with nogil:
-        grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, self.c_byte_buffer)
+        reader_status = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(
+            &reader, self.c_byte_buffer)
+      if not reader_status:
+        return None
       result = bytearray()
       with nogil:
         while grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &data_slice):
diff --git a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/imports.generated.h b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/imports.generated.h
index b3e341fe25e6e6f4eba45f9c68834c1723af76eb..f87c4da7878bfeb25cca4a2e1a9c195cb7317b8a 100644
--- a/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/imports.generated.h
+++ b/src/python/grpcio/grpc/_cython/imports.generated.h
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ extern grpc_byte_buffer_length_type grpc_byte_buffer_length_import;
 typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_type)(grpc_byte_buffer *byte_buffer);
 extern grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_type grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_import;
 #define grpc_byte_buffer_destroy grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_import
-typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader, grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
+typedef int(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader, grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
 extern grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_import;
 #define grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_import
 typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader);
diff --git a/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_byte_buffer.c b/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_byte_buffer.c
index 1172691116c82b12a2ef1abfc01239cccf130f3c..61b7c30315da882161c15ef52e110c97ad2a10cd 100644
--- a/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_byte_buffer.c
+++ b/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_byte_buffer.c
@@ -56,7 +56,10 @@ VALUE grpc_rb_byte_buffer_to_s(grpc_byte_buffer *buffer) {
     return Qnil;
   }
   rb_string = rb_str_buf_new(grpc_byte_buffer_length(buffer));
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  if (!grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer)) {
+    rb_raise(rb_eRuntimeError, "Error initializing byte buffer reader.");
+    return Qnil;
+  }
   while (grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &next) != 0) {
     rb_str_cat(rb_string, (const char *) GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(next),
                GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(next));
diff --git a/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_grpc_imports.generated.h b/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_grpc_imports.generated.h
index 13f961495cf9af60ae1c02ea52e429757d1a70dd..6f0974e31b425e53bd5c9bb8eb8de03b23c4cad5 100644
--- a/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_grpc_imports.generated.h
+++ b/src/ruby/ext/grpc/rb_grpc_imports.generated.h
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ extern grpc_byte_buffer_length_type grpc_byte_buffer_length_import;
 typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_type)(grpc_byte_buffer *byte_buffer);
 extern grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_type grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_import;
 #define grpc_byte_buffer_destroy grpc_byte_buffer_destroy_import
-typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader, grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
+typedef int(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader, grpc_byte_buffer *buffer);
 extern grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_type grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_import;
 #define grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init_import
 typedef void(*grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy_type)(grpc_byte_buffer_reader *reader);
diff --git a/test/core/end2end/cq_verifier.c b/test/core/end2end/cq_verifier.c
index 8e9fa70b0ec99c45a372f06f7621d952cedeb5d8..890309c44a8bea8d8ec47426237550b005b7660b 100644
--- a/test/core/end2end/cq_verifier.c
+++ b/test/core/end2end/cq_verifier.c
@@ -149,7 +149,8 @@ int byte_buffer_eq_string(grpc_byte_buffer *bb, const char *str) {
   grpc_byte_buffer *rbb;
   int res;
 
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, bb);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, bb) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   rbb = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_from_reader(&reader);
   res = byte_buffer_eq_slice(rbb, gpr_slice_from_copied_string(str));
   grpc_byte_buffer_reader_destroy(&reader);
diff --git a/test/core/surface/byte_buffer_reader_test.c b/test/core/surface/byte_buffer_reader_test.c
index 9c6734e1799118a1b33287b76336d5bee165225f..1ab1a06211e604dab2b5f03d09329a84451a49ca 100644
--- a/test/core/surface/byte_buffer_reader_test.c
+++ b/test/core/surface/byte_buffer_reader_test.c
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ static void test_read_one_slice(void) {
   slice = gpr_slice_from_copied_string("test");
   buffer = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(&slice, 1);
   gpr_slice_unref(slice);
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   first_code = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &first_slice);
   GPR_ASSERT(first_code != 0);
   GPR_ASSERT(memcmp(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(first_slice), "test", 4) == 0);
@@ -81,7 +82,8 @@ static void test_read_one_slice_malloc(void) {
   memcpy(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(slice), "test", 4);
   buffer = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(&slice, 1);
   gpr_slice_unref(slice);
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   first_code = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &first_slice);
   GPR_ASSERT(first_code != 0);
   GPR_ASSERT(memcmp(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(first_slice), "test", 4) == 0);
@@ -102,7 +104,8 @@ static void test_read_none_compressed_slice(void) {
   slice = gpr_slice_from_copied_string("test");
   buffer = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(&slice, 1);
   gpr_slice_unref(slice);
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   first_code = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &first_slice);
   GPR_ASSERT(first_code != 0);
   GPR_ASSERT(memcmp(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(first_slice), "test", 4) == 0);
@@ -112,6 +115,20 @@ static void test_read_none_compressed_slice(void) {
   grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(buffer);
 }
 
+static void test_read_corrupted_slice(void) {
+  gpr_slice slice;
+  grpc_byte_buffer *buffer;
+  grpc_byte_buffer_reader reader;
+
+  LOG_TEST("test_read_corrupted_slice");
+  slice = gpr_slice_from_copied_string("test");
+  buffer = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(&slice, 1);
+  buffer->data.raw.compression = GRPC_COMPRESS_GZIP; /* lies! */
+  gpr_slice_unref(slice);
+  GPR_ASSERT(!grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer));
+  grpc_byte_buffer_destroy(buffer);
+}
+
 static void read_compressed_slice(grpc_compression_algorithm algorithm,
                                   size_t input_size) {
   gpr_slice input_slice;
@@ -132,7 +149,8 @@ static void read_compressed_slice(grpc_compression_algorithm algorithm,
 
   buffer = grpc_raw_compressed_byte_buffer_create(sliceb_out.slices,
                                                   sliceb_out.count, algorithm);
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
 
   while (grpc_byte_buffer_reader_next(&reader, &read_slice)) {
     GPR_ASSERT(memcmp(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(read_slice),
@@ -170,7 +188,8 @@ static void test_byte_buffer_from_reader(void) {
   memcpy(GPR_SLICE_START_PTR(slice), "test", 4);
   buffer = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_create(&slice, 1);
   gpr_slice_unref(slice);
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
 
   buffer_from_reader = grpc_raw_byte_buffer_from_reader(&reader);
   GPR_ASSERT(buffer->type == buffer_from_reader->type);
@@ -206,7 +225,8 @@ static void test_readall(void) {
   gpr_slice_unref(slices[0]);
   gpr_slice_unref(slices[1]);
 
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   slice_out = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_readall(&reader);
 
   GPR_ASSERT(GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(slice_out) == 512 + 1024);
@@ -241,7 +261,8 @@ static void test_byte_buffer_copy(void) {
   gpr_slice_unref(slices[1]);
   copied_buffer = grpc_byte_buffer_copy(buffer);
 
-  grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, copied_buffer);
+  GPR_ASSERT(grpc_byte_buffer_reader_init(&reader, buffer) &&
+             "Couldn't init byte buffer reader");
   slice_out = grpc_byte_buffer_reader_readall(&reader);
 
   GPR_ASSERT(GPR_SLICE_LENGTH(slice_out) == 512 + 1024);
@@ -260,6 +281,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
   test_read_none_compressed_slice();
   test_read_gzip_compressed_slice();
   test_read_deflate_compressed_slice();
+  test_read_corrupted_slice();
   test_byte_buffer_from_reader();
   test_byte_buffer_copy();
   test_readall();