diff --git a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/bootstrap_password.bash b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/bootstrap_password.bash
index a385abd6d2f..7c2a42c373b 100644
--- a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/bootstrap_password.bash
+++ b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/bootstrap_password.bash
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ SETUP_OK
     [ "$status" -eq 0 ] || {
         echo "Expected x-pack setup-passwords tool exit code to be zero but got [$status]"
         cat /tmp/setup-passwords-output-with-bootstrap
+        debug_collect_logs
         false
     }
 
diff --git a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/certgen.bash b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/certgen.bash
index 87b77f3572e..313fbd97374 100644
--- a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/certgen.bash
+++ b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/tests/certgen.bash
@@ -261,6 +261,7 @@ MASTER_SETTINGS
     [ "$status" -eq 0 ] || {
 	    echo "Failed to connect to master node using HTTPS:"
 	    echo "$output"
+	    debug_collect_logs
 	    false
     }
     echo "$output" | grep "node-master"
@@ -359,6 +360,7 @@ DATA_SETTINGS
         -XPOST "https://127.0.0.1:9200/books/book/0?refresh" \
         -d '{"title": "Elasticsearch The Definitive Guide"}')
 
+    debug_collect_logs
     echo "$testIndex" | grep '"result":"created"'
 
     masterSettings=$(sudo curl -u "elastic:changeme" \
diff --git a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/utils/xpack.bash b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/utils/xpack.bash
index 33a8acfd2b7..435d60233a9 100644
--- a/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/utils/xpack.bash
+++ b/qa/vagrant/src/test/resources/packaging/utils/xpack.bash
@@ -96,12 +96,19 @@ assert_number_of_files() {
 wait_for_xpack() {
     local host=${1:-localhost}
     local port=${2:-9200}
-
-    local waitFor
+    local listening=1
     for i in {1..60}; do
-        waitFor=$(echo "GET / HTTP/1.0" > /dev/tcp/$host/$port; echo $?)
-        [ "$waitFor" -eq "0" ] && break || sleep 1;
+        if test_port "$host" "$port"; then
+	    listening=0
+            break
+        else
+            sleep 1
+        fi
     done
 
-    [ "$waitFor" -eq "0" ]
+    [ "$listening" -eq 0 ] || {
+        echo "Looks like elasticsearch with x-pack never started."
+        debug_collect_logs
+        false
+    }
 }