diff --git a/components/partition_table/test/test_partition.c b/components/partition_table/test/test_partition.c
index 15088728bb..0abc1c82ad 100644
--- a/components/partition_table/test/test_partition.c
+++ b/components/partition_table/test/test_partition.c
@@ -28,6 +28,15 @@ TEST_CASE("Can read partition table", "[partition]")
     }
     esp_partition_iterator_release(it);
     TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(5, count);
+
+    it = esp_partition_find(ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY, ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY, NULL);
+    TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(it);
+    count = 0;
+    for (; it != NULL; it = esp_partition_next(it)) {
+        ++count;
+    }
+    esp_partition_iterator_release(it);
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(8, count);
 }
 
 TEST_CASE("Can write, read, mmap partition", "[partition][ignore]")
diff --git a/components/spi_flash/include/esp_partition.h b/components/spi_flash/include/esp_partition.h
index 24c1d3dfa7..e59babb451 100644
--- a/components/spi_flash/include/esp_partition.h
+++ b/components/spi_flash/include/esp_partition.h
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ extern "C" {
 typedef enum {
     ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_APP = 0x00,       //!< Application partition type
     ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_DATA = 0x01,      //!< Data partition type
+
+    ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY = 0xff,       //!< Used to search for partitions with any type
 } esp_partition_type_t;
 
 /**
@@ -123,7 +125,9 @@ typedef struct {
 /**
  * @brief Find partition based on one or more parameters
  *
- * @param type Partition type, one of esp_partition_type_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer
+ * @param type Partition type, one of esp_partition_type_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer.
+ *             To find all partitions, no matter the type, use ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY, and set
+ *             subtype argument to ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY.
  * @param subtype Partition subtype, one of esp_partition_subtype_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer.
  *                To find all partitions of given type, use ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY.
  * @param label (optional) Partition label. Set this value if looking
@@ -139,7 +143,9 @@ esp_partition_iterator_t esp_partition_find(esp_partition_type_t type, esp_parti
 /**
  * @brief Find first partition based on one or more parameters
  *
- * @param type Partition type, one of esp_partition_type_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer
+ * @param type Partition type, one of esp_partition_type_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer.
+ *             To find all partitions, no matter the type, use ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY, and set
+ *             subtype argument to ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY.
  * @param subtype Partition subtype, one of esp_partition_subtype_t values or an 8-bit unsigned integer
  *                To find all partitions of given type, use ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY.
  * @param label (optional) Partition label. Set this value if looking
diff --git a/components/spi_flash/partition.c b/components/spi_flash/partition.c
index 20f2e5fdf9..47b938f4ea 100644
--- a/components/spi_flash/partition.c
+++ b/components/spi_flash/partition.c
@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ esp_partition_iterator_t esp_partition_find(esp_partition_type_t type,
     if (ensure_partitions_loaded() != ESP_OK) {
         return NULL;
     }
+    // Searching for a specific subtype without specifying the type doesn't make
+    // sense, and is likely a usage error.
+    if (type == ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY && subtype != ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
     // create an iterator pointing to the start of the list
     // (next item will be the first one)
     esp_partition_iterator_t it = iterator_create(type, subtype, label);
@@ -108,10 +113,10 @@ esp_partition_iterator_t esp_partition_next(esp_partition_iterator_t it)
     _lock_acquire(&s_partition_list_lock);
     for (; it->next_item != NULL; it->next_item = SLIST_NEXT(it->next_item, next)) {
         esp_partition_t* p = &it->next_item->info;
-        if (it->type != p->type) {
+        if (it->type != ESP_PARTITION_TYPE_ANY && it->type != p->type) {
             continue;
         }
-        if (it->subtype != 0xff && it->subtype != p->subtype) {
+        if (it->subtype != ESP_PARTITION_SUBTYPE_ANY && it->subtype != p->subtype) {
             continue;
         }
         if (it->label != NULL && strcmp(it->label, p->label) != 0) {