diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/reboot-fix-exception-type.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/reboot-fix-exception-type.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..43f5680856b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/reboot-fix-exception-type.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - reboot - use IndexError instead of TypeError in exception
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/reboot.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/reboot.py
index 160ef9bce11..ba331a4c136 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/reboot.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/reboot.py
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ class ActionModule(ActionBase):
                 if action_desc:
                     try:
                         error = to_text(e).splitlines()[-1]
-                    except TypeError as e:
+                    except IndexError as e:
                         error = to_text(e)
                     display.debug("{0}: {1} fail '{2}', retrying in {3:.4} seconds...".format(self._task.action, action_desc,
                                                                                               error, fail_sleep))