diff --git a/doc/faqs.dox b/doc/faqs.dox
index bc7730fb..3ef4c593 100644
--- a/doc/faqs.dox
+++ b/doc/faqs.dox
@@ -155,6 +155,22 @@ and don't send the required events. But they should all work nonetheless. If
 you have a tablet that does not work with libinput, please @ref
 reporting_bugs "file a bug".
 
+@section faq_tablet_capabilities My tablet doesn't work
+
+If you see the message
+<pre>
+libinput bug: device does not meet tablet criteria. Ignoring this device.
+</pre>
+
+or the message
+<pre>
+missing tablet capabilities [...] Ignoring this device.
+</pre>
+
+your tablet device does not have the required capabilities to be treated as
+a tablet. This is usually a problem with the device and the kernel driver.
+See @ref tablet-capabilities for more details.
+
 @section faq_hwdb_changes How to apply hwdb changes
 
 Sometimes users are asked to test updates to the <a
diff --git a/doc/tablet-support.dox b/doc/tablet-support.dox
index 19c5d8ff..054ef570 100644
--- a/doc/tablet-support.dox
+++ b/doc/tablet-support.dox
@@ -344,4 +344,31 @@ libinput uses the @ref libinput_device_group to decide on touch arbitration
 and automatically discards touch events whenever a tool is in proximity.
 The exact behavior is device-dependent.
 
+@section tablet-capabilities Required tablet capabilities
+
+To handle a tablet correctly, libinput requires a set of capabilities
+on the device. When these capabilities are missing, libinput ignores the
+device and prints an error to the log. This error messages reads
+<pre>
+missing tablet capabilities: xy pen btn-stylus resolution. Ignoring this device.
+</pre>
+or in older versions of libinput simply:
+<pre>
+libinput bug: device does not meet tablet criteria. Ignoring this device.
+</pre>
+
+When a tablet is rejected, it is usually possible to check the issue with
+the `evemu-descibe` tool.
+
+- **xy** indicates that the tablet is missing the `ABS_X` and/or `ABS_Y`
+  axis. This indicates that the device is mislabelled and the udev tag
+  `ID_INPUT_TABLET` is applied to a device that is not a tablet.
+- **pen** or **btn-stylus** indicates that the tablet does not have the
+  `BTN_TOOL_PEN` or `BTN_STYLUS` bit set. libinput requires either or both
+  of them to be present. This usually indicates a bug in the kernel driver
+  or the HID descriptors of the device.
+- **resolution** indicates that the device does not have a resolution set
+  for the x and y axes. This can be fixed with a hwdb entry, locate and read
+  the 60-evdev.hwdb file on your machine to address this.
+
 */
diff --git a/src/evdev-tablet.c b/src/evdev-tablet.c
index d672484e..51a1434b 100644
--- a/src/evdev-tablet.c
+++ b/src/evdev-tablet.c
@@ -1980,29 +1980,26 @@ static int
 tablet_reject_device(struct evdev_device *device)
 {
 	struct libevdev *evdev = device->evdev;
-	int rc = -1;
 	double w, h;
+	bool has_xy, has_pen, has_btn_stylus, has_size;
 
-	if (!libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_ABS, ABS_X) ||
-	    !libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_ABS, ABS_Y))
-		goto out;
+	has_xy = libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_ABS, ABS_X) &&
+	         libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_ABS, ABS_Y);
+	has_pen = libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_KEY, BTN_TOOL_PEN);
+	has_btn_stylus = libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_KEY, BTN_STYLUS);
+	has_size = evdev_device_get_size(device, &w, &h) == 0;
 
-	if (!libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_KEY, BTN_TOOL_PEN) &&
-	    !libevdev_has_event_code(evdev, EV_KEY, BTN_STYLUS))
-		goto out;
+	if (has_xy && (has_pen || has_btn_stylus) && has_size)
+		return 0;
 
-	if (evdev_device_get_size(device, &w, &h) != 0)
-		goto out;
-
-	rc = 0;
-
-out:
-	if (rc) {
-		evdev_log_bug_libinput(device,
-				       "device does not meet tablet criteria. "
-				       "Ignoring this device.\n");
-	}
-	return rc;
+	evdev_log_bug_libinput(device,
+			       "missing tablet capabilities:%s%s%s%s."
+			       "Ignoring this device.\n",
+			       has_xy ? "" : " xy",
+			       has_pen ? "" : " pen",
+			       has_btn_stylus ? "" : " btn-stylus",
+			       has_size ? "" : " resolution");
+	return -1;
 }
 
 static int