diff --git a/src/calibre/devices/apple/driver.py b/src/calibre/devices/apple/driver.py
index 5ead675aab..76ecce3a8e 100644
--- a/src/calibre/devices/apple/driver.py
+++ b/src/calibre/devices/apple/driver.py
@@ -2512,7 +2512,12 @@ class ITUNES(DriverBase):
         # Refresh epub metadata
         with open(fpath,'r+b') as zfo:
             # Touch the OPF timestamp
-            zf_opf = ZipFile(fpath,'r')
+            try:
+                zf_opf = ZipFile(fpath,'r')
+            except:
+                raise UserFeedback("'%s' is not a valid EPUB" % metadata.title,
+                                   None,
+                                   level=UserFeedback.WARN)
             fnames = zf_opf.namelist()
             opf = [x for x in fnames if '.opf' in x][0]
             if opf: