diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ab867b14d..d44457a2e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+**Breaking Changes**:
+
+- Android NDK: `SentryNdk.init(NdkOptions)` now throws an `Exception` if init fails (non-zero return code) rather than silently swallowing the error. ([#1430](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1430))
+
 **Fixes**:
 
 - Removed the 10-item limit per envelope for non-session data. Sessions are now limited to 100 per envelope, while other items (e.g., attachments) have no limit in amount. ([#1347](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-native/pull/1347))
diff --git a/ndk/lib/src/androidTest/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdkTest.java b/ndk/lib/src/androidTest/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdkTest.java
index 76f4ca0fa..ad9907740 100644
--- a/ndk/lib/src/androidTest/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdkTest.java
+++ b/ndk/lib/src/androidTest/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdkTest.java
@@ -65,6 +65,30 @@ public void shutdownDoesNotFail() throws IOException {
     // it does not crash
   }
 
+  @Test(expected = IllegalStateException.class)
+  public void initThrowsException() throws IOException {
+    final TemporaryFolder temporaryFolder = TemporaryFolder.builder().build();
+    temporaryFolder.create();
+    final File outboxPath = temporaryFolder.newFolder("outboxPath");
+
+    //noinspection DataFlowIssue
+    final NdkOptions options =
+        new NdkOptions(
+            null,
+            true,
+            outboxPath.getAbsolutePath(),
+            "1.0.0",
+            "production",
+            "dist",
+            100,
+            "io.sentry.ndk");
+
+    // when initialized with a NULL dsn
+    SentryNdk.init(options);
+
+    // then it does crash
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void messageCaught() throws IOException {
     final TemporaryFolder temporaryFolder = TemporaryFolder.builder().build();
diff --git a/ndk/lib/src/main/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdk.java b/ndk/lib/src/main/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdk.java
index d43ac268a..72046377f 100644
--- a/ndk/lib/src/main/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdk.java
+++ b/ndk/lib/src/main/java/io/sentry/ndk/SentryNdk.java
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@ public final class SentryNdk {
 
   private SentryNdk() {}
 
-  private static native void initSentryNative(@NotNull final NdkOptions options);
+  /**
+   * Initializes sentry-native and returns 0 on success, non-zero on failure.
+   *
+   * @return -1 if an JNI or options configuration issue occurred, 1 if sentry native itself failed
+   *     to initialize
+   */
+  private static native int initSentryNative(@NotNull final NdkOptions options);
 
   private static native void shutdown();
 
@@ -18,10 +24,17 @@ private SentryNdk() {}
    * Init the NDK integration
    *
    * @param options the SentryAndroidOptions
+   * @throws IllegalStateException if sentry-native couldn't be initialized
    */
   public static void init(@NotNull final NdkOptions options) {
     loadNativeLibraries();
-    initSentryNative(options);
+    final int returnCode = initSentryNative(options);
+    if (returnCode > 0) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException(
+          "A sentry-native internal init error occurred, please check the logs for more details.");
+    } else if (returnCode < 0) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException("A sentry-native setup failure occurred");
+    }
   }
 
   /** Closes the NDK integration */
diff --git a/ndk/lib/src/main/jni/sentry.c b/ndk/lib/src/main/jni/sentry.c
index 827ec5bab..6be3765c3 100644
--- a/ndk/lib/src/main/jni/sentry.c
+++ b/ndk/lib/src/main/jni/sentry.c
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ static void send_envelope(sentry_envelope_t *envelope, void *data) {
     sentry_envelope_free(envelope);
 }
 
-JNIEXPORT void JNICALL
+JNIEXPORT jint JNICALL
 Java_io_sentry_ndk_SentryNdk_initSentryNative(
         JNIEnv *env,
         jclass cls,
@@ -355,8 +355,8 @@ Java_io_sentry_ndk_SentryNdk_initSentryNative(
     jfloat traces_sample_rate = (jfloat) (*env)->CallFloatMethod(env, sentry_ndk_options, traces_sample_rate_mid);
     sentry_options_set_traces_sample_rate(options, traces_sample_rate);
 
-    sentry_init(options);
-    return;
+    int rv = sentry_init(options);
+    return (jint) rv;
 
     fail:
     if (!transport_owns_path) {
@@ -366,6 +366,7 @@ Java_io_sentry_ndk_SentryNdk_initSentryNative(
         sentry_transport_free(transport);
     }
     sentry_options_free(options);
+    return (jint) -1;
 }
 
 JNIEXPORT void JNICALL