diff --git a/libpfr/inc/file.hpp b/libpfr/inc/file.hpp
index 3f48666..c333c34 100644
--- a/libpfr/inc/file.hpp
+++ b/libpfr/inc/file.hpp
@@ -82,13 +82,13 @@
      */
     uint8_t i2cReadByteData(const uint8_t& offset)
     {
-        uint8_t value = i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(fd, offset);
+        int value = i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(fd, offset);
 
         if (value < 0)
         {
             throw std::runtime_error("i2c_smbus_read_byte_data() failed");
         }
-        return value;
+        return static_cast<uint8_t>(value);
     }
 
     /** @brief Reads the block of data from I2C dev