diff --git a/qiskit/__init__.py b/qiskit/__init__.py
index 10b8bbd3b5..e81da899c4 100644
--- a/qiskit/__init__.py
+++ b/qiskit/__init__.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 """Main Qiskit public functionality."""
 
 import pkgutil
+import warnings
 
 # First, check for required Python and API version
 from . import util
@@ -50,12 +51,17 @@ from qiskit.providers.basicaer import BasicAer
 try:
     from qiskit.providers.aer import Aer
 except ImportError:
-    pass
+    warnings.warn('Could not import the Aer provider from the qiskit-aer '
+                  'package. Install qiskit-aer or check your installation.',
+                  ImportWarning)
 # Try to import the IBMQ provider if installed.
 try:
     from qiskit.providers.ibmq import IBMQ
 except ImportError:
-    pass
+    warnings.warn('Could not import the IBMQ provider from the '
+                  'qiskit-ibmq-provider package. Install qiskit-ibmq-provider '
+                  'or check your installation.',
+                  ImportWarning)
 
 from .version import __version__
 from .version import __qiskit_version__