diff --git a/src/hci_dump.c b/src/hci_dump.c
index aaf175f2d..623daef3d 100644
--- a/src/hci_dump.c
+++ b/src/hci_dump.c
@@ -164,8 +164,23 @@ static void printf_packet(uint8_t packet_type, uint8_t in, uint8_t * packet, uin
     printf_hexdump(packet, len);  
 }
 
-#ifndef HAVE_POSIX_FILE_IO
 static void printf_timestamp(void){
+#ifdef HAVE_POSIX_FILE_IO
+    struct tm* ptm;
+    struct timeval curr_time;
+    gettimeofday(&curr_time, NULL);
+    time_t curr_time_secs = curr_time.tv_sec;
+    /* Obtain the time of day, and convert it to a tm struct. */
+    ptm = localtime (&curr_time_secs);
+    /* assert localtime was successful */
+    if (!ptm) return;
+    /* Format the date and time, down to a single second. */
+    strftime (time_string, sizeof (time_string), "[%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", ptm);
+    /* Compute milliseconds from microseconds. */
+    uint16_t milliseconds = curr_time.tv_usec / 1000;
+    /* Print the formatted time, in seconds, followed by a decimal point and the milliseconds. */
+    printf ("%s.%03u] ", time_string, milliseconds);
+#else
     uint32_t time_ms = btstack_run_loop_get_time_ms();
     int      seconds = time_ms / 1000;
     int      minutes = seconds / 60;
@@ -175,8 +190,8 @@ static void printf_timestamp(void){
     uint16_t p_seconds = seconds - (minutes * 60);
     uint16_t p_minutes = minutes - (hours   * 60);     
     printf("[%02u:%02u:%02u.%03u] ", hours, p_minutes, p_seconds, p_ms);
-}
 #endif
+}
 
 void hci_dump_packet(uint8_t packet_type, uint8_t in, uint8_t *packet, uint16_t len) {    
 
@@ -196,22 +211,11 @@ void hci_dump_packet(uint8_t packet_type, uint8_t in, uint8_t *packet, uint16_t
     
     // get time
     struct timeval curr_time;
-    struct tm* ptm;
     gettimeofday(&curr_time, NULL);
-    time_t curr_time_secs = curr_time.tv_sec;
 
     switch (dump_format){
         case HCI_DUMP_STDOUT: {
-            /* Obtain the time of day, and convert it to a tm struct. */
-            ptm = localtime (&curr_time_secs);
-            /* assert localtime was successful */
-            if (!ptm) break;
-            /* Format the date and time, down to a single second. */
-            strftime (time_string, sizeof (time_string), "[%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", ptm);
-            /* Compute milliseconds from microseconds. */
-            uint16_t milliseconds = curr_time.tv_usec / 1000;
-            /* Print the formatted time, in seconds, followed by a decimal point and the milliseconds. */
-            printf ("%s.%03u] ", time_string, milliseconds);
+            printf_timestamp();
             printf_packet(packet_type, in, packet, len);
             break;
         }
@@ -280,17 +284,19 @@ static int hci_dump_log_level_active(int log_level){
 }
 
 void hci_dump_log_va_arg(int log_level, const char * format, va_list argptr){
-    if (hci_dump_log_level_active(log_level)) {
+    if (!hci_dump_log_level_active(log_level)) return;
+
 #ifdef HAVE_POSIX_FILE_IO
+    if (dump_file >= 0){
         int len = vsnprintf(log_message_buffer, sizeof(log_message_buffer), format, argptr);
         hci_dump_packet(LOG_MESSAGE_PACKET, 0, (uint8_t*) log_message_buffer, len);
-#else
-        printf_timestamp();
-        printf("LOG -- ");
-        vprintf(format, argptr);
-        printf("\n");
-#endif
     }
+#endif
+
+    printf_timestamp();
+    printf("LOG -- ");
+    vprintf(format, argptr);
+    printf("\n");
 }
 
 void hci_dump_log(int log_level, const char * format, ...){