diff --git a/tools/idf_monitor_base/argument_parser.py b/tools/idf_monitor_base/argument_parser.py
index b0233bcc4e..53f75075c7 100644
--- a/tools/idf_monitor_base/argument_parser.py
+++ b/tools/idf_monitor_base/argument_parser.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def get_parser():  # type: () -> argparse.ArgumentParser
         '--disable-address-decoding', '-d',
         help="Don't print lines about decoded addresses from the application ELF file",
         action='store_true',
-        default=os.environ.get('ESP_MONITOR_DECODE') == 0
+        default=os.getenv('ESP_MONITOR_DECODE') == '0'
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(