diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
index ead0361f5f..402699dd16 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
@@ -137,27 +137,35 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
     @required String packagesPath,
     @required String outputPath,
     @required bool previewDart2,
-    @required bool preferSharedLibrary,
+    @required bool buildSharedLibrary,
     IOSArch iosArch,
     List<String> extraGenSnapshotOptions: const <String>[],
   }) async {
     if (!_isValidAotPlatform(platform, buildMode)) {
       printError('${getNameForTargetPlatform(platform)} does not support AOT compilation.');
-      return -1;
+      return 1;
     }
     // TODO(cbracken): replace IOSArch with TargetPlatform.ios_{armv7,arm64}.
     assert(platform != TargetPlatform.ios || iosArch != null);
 
-    final bool compileToSharedLibrary = preferSharedLibrary && androidSdk.ndkCompiler != null;
-    if (preferSharedLibrary && !compileToSharedLibrary) {
-      printStatus('Could not find NDK compiler. Not building in shared library mode.');
+    // buildSharedLibrary is ignored for iOS builds.
+    if (platform == TargetPlatform.ios)
+      buildSharedLibrary = false;
+
+    if (buildSharedLibrary && androidSdk.ndkCompiler == null) {
+      printError(
+        'Could not find NDK in Android SDK at ${androidSdk.directory}.\n'
+        'Unable to build with --build-shared-library\n'
+        'To install the NDK, see instructions at https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/'
+      );
+      return 1;
     }
 
     final PackageMap packageMap = new PackageMap(packagesPath);
     final String packageMapError = packageMap.checkValid();
     if (packageMapError != null) {
       printError(packageMapError);
-      return -2;
+      return 1;
     }
 
     final Directory outputDir = fs.directory(outputPath);
@@ -198,7 +206,7 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
     }
 
     final String assembly = fs.path.join(outputDir.path, 'snapshot_assembly.S');
-    if (compileToSharedLibrary || platform == TargetPlatform.ios) {
+    if (buildSharedLibrary || platform == TargetPlatform.ios) {
       // Assembly AOT snapshot.
       outputPaths.add(assembly);
       genSnapshotArgs.add('--snapshot_kind=app-aot-assembly');
@@ -230,7 +238,7 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
     final Iterable<String> missingInputs = inputPaths.where((String p) => !fs.isFileSync(p));
     if (missingInputs.isNotEmpty) {
       printError('Missing input files: $missingInputs from $inputPaths');
-      return -3;
+      return 1;
     }
 
     // If inputs and outputs have not changed since last run, skip the build.
@@ -242,7 +250,7 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
         'targetPlatform': platform.toString(),
         'entryPoint': mainPath,
         'dart2': previewDart2.toString(),
-        'sharedLib': compileToSharedLibrary.toString(),
+        'sharedLib': buildSharedLibrary.toString(),
         'extraGenSnapshotOptions': extraGenSnapshotOptions.join(' '),
       },
       depfilePaths: <String>[depfilePath],
@@ -261,7 +269,7 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
     );
     if (genSnapshotExitCode != 0) {
       printError('Dart snapshot generator failed with exit code $genSnapshotExitCode');
-      return -4;
+      return genSnapshotExitCode;
     }
 
     // Write path to gen_snapshot, since snapshots have to be re-generated when we roll
@@ -274,10 +282,12 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
       final RunResult result = await _buildIosFramework(iosArch: iosArch, assemblyPath: assembly, outputPath: outputDir.path);
       if (result.exitCode != 0)
         return result.exitCode;
-    } else if (compileToSharedLibrary) {
+    } else if (buildSharedLibrary) {
       final RunResult result = await _buildAndroidSharedLibrary(assemblyPath: assembly, outputPath: outputDir.path);
-      if (result.exitCode != 0)
+      if (result.exitCode != 0) {
+        printError('Failed to build AOT snapshot. Compiler terminated with exit code ${result.exitCode}');
         return result.exitCode;
+      }
     }
 
     // Compute and record build fingerprint.
@@ -298,8 +308,10 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
 
     final String assemblyO = fs.path.join(outputPath, 'snapshot_assembly.o');
     final RunResult compileResult = await xcode.cc(commonBuildOptions.toList()..addAll(<String>['-c', assemblyPath, '-o', assemblyO]));
-    if (compileResult.exitCode != 0)
+    if (compileResult.exitCode != 0) {
+      printError('Failed to compile AOT snapshot. Compiler terminated with exit code ${compileResult.exitCode}');
       return compileResult;
+    }
 
     final String frameworkDir = fs.path.join(outputPath, 'App.framework');
     fs.directory(frameworkDir).createSync(recursive: true);
@@ -313,6 +325,9 @@ class AOTSnapshotter {
         assemblyO,
     ]);
     final RunResult linkResult = await xcode.clang(linkArgs);
+    if (linkResult.exitCode != 0) {
+      printError('Failed to link AOT snapshot. Linker terminated with exit code ${compileResult.exitCode}');
+    }
     return linkResult;
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
index d67c2a6def..12f8839bc2 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/commands/build_aot.dart
@@ -33,11 +33,16 @@ class BuildAotCommand extends BuildSubCommand {
         hide: !verboseHelp,
         help: 'Preview Dart 2.0 functionality.',
       )
+      ..addFlag('build-shared-library',
+        negatable: false,
+        defaultsTo: false,
+        help: 'Compile to a *.so file (requires NDK when building for Android).'
+      )
       ..addMultiOption('ios-arch',
         splitCommas: true,
         defaultsTo: defaultIOSArchs.map(getNameForIOSArch),
         allowed: IOSArch.values.map(getNameForIOSArch),
-        help: 'iOS architectures to build',
+        help: 'iOS architectures to build.',
       )
       ..addMultiOption(FlutterOptions.kExtraFrontEndOptions,
         splitCommas: true,
@@ -46,10 +51,7 @@ class BuildAotCommand extends BuildSubCommand {
       ..addMultiOption(FlutterOptions.kExtraGenSnapshotOptions,
         splitCommas: true,
         hide: true,
-      )
-      ..addFlag('prefer-shared-library',
-        negatable: false,
-        help: 'Whether to prefer compiling to a *.so file (android only).');
+      );
   }
 
   @override
@@ -115,7 +117,7 @@ class BuildAotCommand extends BuildSubCommand {
             packagesPath: PackageMap.globalPackagesPath,
             outputPath: outputPath,
             previewDart2: previewDart2,
-            preferSharedLibrary: false,
+            buildSharedLibrary: false,
             extraGenSnapshotOptions: argResults[FlutterOptions.kExtraGenSnapshotOptions],
           ).then((int buildExitCode) {
             if (buildExitCode != 0)
@@ -142,16 +144,18 @@ class BuildAotCommand extends BuildSubCommand {
           packagesPath: PackageMap.globalPackagesPath,
           outputPath: outputPath,
           previewDart2: previewDart2,
-          preferSharedLibrary: argResults['prefer-shared-library'],
+          buildSharedLibrary: argResults['build-shared-library'],
           extraGenSnapshotOptions: argResults[FlutterOptions.kExtraGenSnapshotOptions],
         );
         if (snapshotExitCode != 0) {
           printError('Snapshotting exited with non-zero exit code: $snapshotExitCode');
+          return;
         }
       }
     } on String catch (error) {
       // Catch the String exceptions thrown from the `runCheckedSync` methods below.
       printError(error);
+      return;
     }
     status?.stop();
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/test/base/build_test.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/test/base/build_test.dart
index 88b81b54dd..ea84410e75 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/test/base/build_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/test/base/build_test.dart
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import 'dart:async';
 import 'dart:convert' show json;
 
 import 'package:file/memory.dart';
+import 'package:flutter_tools/src/android/android_sdk.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/artifacts.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/build_info.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/base/build.dart';
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ import 'package:test/test.dart';
 import '../src/context.dart';
 
 class MockFlutterVersion extends Mock implements FlutterVersion {}
+class MockAndroidSdk extends Mock implements AndroidSdk {}
 class MockArtifacts extends Mock implements Artifacts {}
 class MockXcode extends Mock implements Xcode {}
 
@@ -287,6 +289,7 @@ void main() {
     _FakeGenSnapshot genSnapshot;
     MemoryFileSystem fs;
     AOTSnapshotter snapshotter;
+    MockAndroidSdk mockAndroidSdk;
     MockArtifacts mockArtifacts;
     MockXcode mockXcode;
 
@@ -308,6 +311,7 @@ void main() {
 
       genSnapshot = new _FakeGenSnapshot();
       snapshotter = new AOTSnapshotter();
+      mockAndroidSdk = new MockAndroidSdk();
       mockArtifacts = new MockArtifacts();
       mockXcode = new MockXcode();
       for (BuildMode mode in BuildMode.values) {
@@ -320,6 +324,7 @@ void main() {
     });
 
     final Map<Type, Generator> contextOverrides = <Type, Generator>{
+      AndroidSdk: () => mockAndroidSdk,
       Artifacts: () => mockArtifacts,
       FileSystem: () => fs,
       GenSnapshot: () => genSnapshot,
@@ -334,7 +339,7 @@ void main() {
         mainPath: 'main.dill',
         packagesPath: '.packages',
         outputPath: outputPath,
-        preferSharedLibrary: false,
+        buildSharedLibrary: false,
         previewDart2: true,
       ), isNot(equals(0)));
     }, overrides: contextOverrides);
@@ -347,7 +352,7 @@ void main() {
         mainPath: 'main.dill',
         packagesPath: '.packages',
         outputPath: outputPath,
-        preferSharedLibrary: false,
+        buildSharedLibrary: false,
         previewDart2: true,
       ), isNot(0));
     }, overrides: contextOverrides);
@@ -373,7 +378,7 @@ void main() {
         mainPath: 'main.dill',
         packagesPath: '.packages',
         outputPath: outputPath,
-        preferSharedLibrary: false,
+        buildSharedLibrary: false,
         previewDart2: true,
         iosArch: IOSArch.arm64,
       );
@@ -420,7 +425,7 @@ void main() {
         mainPath: 'main.dill',
         packagesPath: '.packages',
         outputPath: outputPath,
-        preferSharedLibrary: false,
+        buildSharedLibrary: false,
         previewDart2: true,
         iosArch: IOSArch.arm64,
       );
@@ -443,5 +448,24 @@ void main() {
         'main.dill',
       ]);
     }, overrides: contextOverrides);
+
+    testUsingContext('returns failure if buildSharedLibrary is true but no NDK is found', () async {
+      final String outputPath = fs.path.join('build', 'foo');
+
+      when(mockAndroidSdk.ndkCompiler).thenReturn(null);
+
+      final int genSnapshotExitCode = await snapshotter.build(
+        platform: TargetPlatform.android_arm,
+        buildMode: BuildMode.release,
+        mainPath: 'main.dill',
+        packagesPath: '.packages',
+        outputPath: outputPath,
+        buildSharedLibrary: true,
+        previewDart2: true,
+      );
+
+      expect(genSnapshotExitCode, isNot(0));
+      expect(genSnapshot.callCount, 0);
+    }, overrides: contextOverrides);
   });
 }