diff --git a/speaktype/Services/ModelDownloadService.swift b/speaktype/Services/ModelDownloadService.swift
index 2ae73ea..c27e21f 100644
--- a/speaktype/Services/ModelDownloadService.swift
+++ b/speaktype/Services/ModelDownloadService.swift
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
     @Published var isDownloading: [String: Bool] = [:]
     
     private var activeTasks: [String: Task<Void, Never>] = [:] // Track running download tasks
+    private let selectedModelKey = "selectedModelVariant"
     
     private init() {
         // Force a custom cache directory to avoid "Multiple models found" conflicts
@@ -18,7 +19,6 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
         // Check for already-downloaded models on launch
         Task { @MainActor in
             await refreshDownloadedModels()
-            // Don't auto-select - let user explicitly pick a model which will load it
         }
     }
     
@@ -99,15 +99,19 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
             }
         }
         
+        let orderedDownloadedVariants = orderedModelVariants(from: foundModels)
+
         await MainActor.run {
             // Clear all previous progress
             self.downloadProgress.removeAll()
             
             // Only mark models that actually exist
-            for variant in foundModels {
+            for variant in orderedDownloadedVariants {
                 self.downloadProgress[variant] = 1.0
                 print("✅ Marked as downloaded: \(variant)")
             }
+
+            self.synchronizeSelectedModelSelection(with: orderedDownloadedVariants)
             
             if foundModels.isEmpty {
                 print("❌ No models found - all will show as 'Download' buttons")
@@ -158,6 +162,7 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
                 DispatchQueue.main.async {
                     self.isDownloading[variant] = false
                     self.downloadProgress[variant] = 1.0
+                    self.synchronizeSelectedModelSelection(preferredVariant: variant)
                     self.activeTasks[variant] = nil // Cleanup task
                 }
             } catch {
@@ -203,6 +208,7 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
                              self.isDownloading[variant] = false
                              self.downloadProgress[variant] = 1.0
                              self.downloadError[variant] = nil
+                             self.synchronizeSelectedModelSelection(preferredVariant: variant)
                              self.activeTasks[variant] = nil
                          }
                      } catch {
@@ -297,6 +303,7 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
             await MainActor.run {
                 self.downloadProgress[variant] = 0.0
                 self.isDownloading[variant] = false
+                self.synchronizeSelectedModelSelection()
             }
             return "Deleted \(deletedCount) items"
         } else {
@@ -382,4 +389,42 @@ class ModelDownloadService: ObservableObject {
         formatter.countStyle = .file
         return formatter.string(fromByteCount: bytes)
     }
+
+    private func orderedModelVariants(from variants: Set<String>) -> [String] {
+        AIModel.availableModels.map(\.variant).filter { variants.contains($0) }
+    }
+
+    private func synchronizeSelectedModelSelection(with downloadedVariants: [String]? = nil, preferredVariant: String? = nil) {
+        let resolvedDownloadedVariants: [String]
+        if let downloadedVariants {
+            resolvedDownloadedVariants = downloadedVariants
+        } else {
+            let downloadedSet = Set(
+                downloadProgress.compactMap { variant, progress in
+                    progress >= 1.0 ? variant : nil
+                }
+            )
+            resolvedDownloadedVariants = orderedModelVariants(from: downloadedSet)
+        }
+
+        let currentSelection = UserDefaults.standard.string(forKey: selectedModelKey) ?? ""
+        let preferredSelection = preferredVariant.flatMap { variant in
+            resolvedDownloadedVariants.contains(variant) ? variant : nil
+        }
+
+        let nextSelection = preferredSelection
+            ?? (resolvedDownloadedVariants.contains(currentSelection) ? currentSelection : resolvedDownloadedVariants.first)
+
+        if let nextSelection {
+            if currentSelection != nextSelection {
+                print("🔁 Syncing selected model to \(nextSelection)")
+            }
+            UserDefaults.standard.set(nextSelection, forKey: selectedModelKey)
+        } else {
+            if !currentSelection.isEmpty {
+                print("⚠️ Clearing selected model because no downloaded models are available")
+            }
+            UserDefaults.standard.removeObject(forKey: selectedModelKey)
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/speaktype/Services/WhisperService.swift b/speaktype/Services/WhisperService.swift
index f19659f..1f36c8a 100644
--- a/speaktype/Services/WhisperService.swift
+++ b/speaktype/Services/WhisperService.swift
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ class WhisperService {
         case fileNotFound
         case alreadyLoading
         case loadingTimeout
+        case invalidModelSelection(String)
 
         var errorDescription: String? {
             switch self {
@@ -71,6 +72,11 @@ class WhisperService {
             case .alreadyLoading: return "Model loading already in progress"
             case .loadingTimeout:
                 return "Model loading timed out — your Mac may not have enough RAM for this model"
+            case .invalidModelSelection(let variant):
+                if variant.isEmpty {
+                    return "No AI model selected. Download or choose a model in AI Models first."
+                }
+                return "Selected AI model '\(variant)' is no longer available. Choose a downloaded model in AI Models."
             }
         }
     }
@@ -85,6 +91,10 @@ class WhisperService {
 
     // Dynamic model loading with optimized WhisperKitConfig
     func loadModel(variant: String) async throws {
+        guard AIModel.availableModels.contains(where: { $0.variant == variant }) else {
+            throw TranscriptionError.invalidModelSelection(variant)
+        }
+
         // Already loaded this exact model
         if isInitialized && variant == currentModelVariant && pipe != nil {
             print("✅ Model \(variant) already loaded, skipping")
diff --git a/speaktype/Views/Screens/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift b/speaktype/Views/Screens/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
index 6255905..08cc8b4 100644
--- a/speaktype/Views/Screens/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
+++ b/speaktype/Views/Screens/Dashboard/DashboardView.swift
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ struct DashboardView: View {
     @EnvironmentObject var trialManager: TrialManager
     @EnvironmentObject var licenseManager: LicenseManager
 
-    @AppStorage("selectedModelVariant") private var selectedModel: String = "openai_whisper-base"
+    @AppStorage("selectedModelVariant") private var selectedModel: String = ""
     @AppStorage("transcriptionLanguage") private var transcriptionLanguage: String = "auto"
     @State private var showFileImporter = false
     @State private var isTranscribing = false
diff --git a/speaktype/Views/Screens/Settings/AIModelsView.swift b/speaktype/Views/Screens/Settings/AIModelsView.swift
index 05e00b6..a63d2e0 100644
--- a/speaktype/Views/Screens/Settings/AIModelsView.swift
+++ b/speaktype/Views/Screens/Settings/AIModelsView.swift
@@ -42,27 +42,6 @@ struct AIModelsView: View {
             // Refresh model download status when view appears
             Task {
                 await downloadService.refreshDownloadedModels()
-
-                // Auto-fallback: If selected model isn't downloaded, switch to first available
-                if !selectedModel.isEmpty {
-                    let isSelectedModelDownloaded =
-                        downloadService.downloadProgress[selectedModel] ?? 0.0 >= 1.0
-
-                    if !isSelectedModelDownloaded {
-                        // Find first downloaded model
-                        if let firstDownloaded = downloadService.downloadProgress.first(where: {
-                            $0.value >= 1.0
-                        })?.key {
-                            print(
-                                "⚠️ Selected model '\(selectedModel)' not found. Auto-switching to '\(firstDownloaded)'"
-                            )
-                            selectedModel = firstDownloaded
-                        } else {
-                            print("⚠️ No models downloaded. Please download a model to use the app.")
-                            selectedModel = ""  // Clear invalid selection
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
             }
         }
     }