diff --git a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
index 50b894579f96..b5f561253ce4 100644
--- a/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/pointcloud/qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.cpp
@@ -470,6 +470,10 @@ bool QgsPointCloudLayerProfileGenerator::generateProfile( const QgsProfileGenera
   }
   double rootErrorPixels = rootErrorInMapCoordinates / mapUnitsPerPixel; // in pixels
   const QVector<IndexedPointCloudNode> nodes = traverseTree( pc, pc->root(), maximumErrorPixels, rootErrorPixels, context.elevationRange() );
+  if ( nodes.empty() )
+  {
+    return false;
+  }
 
   const double rootErrorInLayerCoordinates = rootNodeExtentLayerCoords.width() / pc->span();
   const double maxErrorInMapCoordinates = maximumErrorPixels * mapUnitsPerPixel;
diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.py
index bad06e4ded0b..7dc6b4a7a989 100644
--- a/tests/src/python/test_qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.py
+++ b/tests/src/python/test_qgspointcloudlayerprofilegenerator.py
@@ -66,9 +66,9 @@ def testProfileGeneration(self):
         req.setCrs(pcl.crs())
         # zero tolerance => no points
         generator = pcl.createProfileGenerator(req)
-        self.assertTrue(generator.generateProfile())
+        self.assertFalse(generator.generateProfile())
         results = generator.takeResults()
-        self.assertFalse(results.distanceToHeightMap())
+        self.assertTrue(results is None)
 
         req.setTolerance(0.05)
         generator = pcl.createProfileGenerator(req)