diff --git a/controller_manager/controller_manager/hardware_spawner.py b/controller_manager/controller_manager/hardware_spawner.py
index c95fb6181e..13c004082e 100644
--- a/controller_manager/controller_manager/hardware_spawner.py
+++ b/controller_manager/controller_manager/hardware_spawner.py
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ def first_match(iterable, predicate):
 
 def wait_for_value_or(function, node, timeout, default, description):
     while node.get_clock().now() < timeout:
-        if result := function():
+        result = function()
+        if result:
             return result
         node.get_logger().info(
             f"Waiting for {description}", throttle_duration_sec=2, skip_first=True
diff --git a/controller_manager/controller_manager/spawner.py b/controller_manager/controller_manager/spawner.py
index 536162612e..44c31ef001 100644
--- a/controller_manager/controller_manager/spawner.py
+++ b/controller_manager/controller_manager/spawner.py
@@ -52,7 +52,8 @@ def first_match(iterable, predicate):
 
 def wait_for_value_or(function, node, timeout, default, description):
     while node.get_clock().now() < timeout:
-        if result := function():
+        result = function()
+        if result:
             return result
         node.get_logger().info(
             f'Waiting for {description}',