diff --git a/app/ui/ui.go b/app/ui/ui.go
index 1e8e51fc9..d55f848b2 100644
--- a/app/ui/ui.go
+++ b/app/ui/ui.go
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ func (s *Server) Handler() http.Handler {
 			}()
 
 			w.Header().Set("X-Frame-Options", "DENY")
-			w.Header().Set("X-Version", version.GetVersion())
+			w.Header().Set("X-Version", version.Version)
 			w.Header().Set("X-Request-ID", requestID)
 
 			ctx := r.Context()
@@ -1564,6 +1564,8 @@ func (s *Server) modelUpstream(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error {
 }
 
 func (s *Server) checkForUpdate(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error {
+	currentVersion := version.Version
+
 	if s.Updater == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("updater not available")
 	}
@@ -1574,9 +1576,6 @@ func (s *Server) checkForUpdate(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) error {
 		// Don't return error, just log it and continue with no update available
 	}
 
-	// Get current version with fallbacks for development
-	currentVersion := version.GetVersion()
-
 	response := responses.UpdateCheckResponse{
 		UpdateInfo: responses.UpdateInfo{
 			CurrentVersion:   currentVersion,
diff --git a/app/updater/updater.go b/app/updater/updater.go
index e7f123317..b7a3d0dfd 100644
--- a/app/updater/updater.go
+++ b/app/updater/updater.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func (u *Updater) checkForUpdate(ctx context.Context) (bool, UpdateResponse) {
 	query := requestURL.Query()
 	query.Add("os", runtime.GOOS)
 	query.Add("arch", runtime.GOARCH)
-	currentVersion := version.GetVersion()
+	currentVersion := version.Version
 	query.Add("version", currentVersion)
 	query.Add("ts", strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().Unix(), 10))
 
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ func (u *Updater) checkForUpdate(ctx context.Context) (bool, UpdateResponse) {
 	if signature != "" {
 		req.Header.Set("Authorization", signature)
 	}
-	ua := fmt.Sprintf("ollama/%s %s Go/%s %s", version.GetVersion(), runtime.GOARCH, runtime.Version(), UserAgentOS)
+	ua := fmt.Sprintf("ollama/%s %s Go/%s %s", version.Version, runtime.GOARCH, runtime.Version(), UserAgentOS)
 	req.Header.Set("User-Agent", ua)
 
 	slog.Debug("checking for available update", "requestURL", requestURL, "User-Agent", ua)
@@ -305,7 +305,13 @@ func (u *Updater) StartBackgroundUpdaterChecker(ctx context.Context, cb func(str
 				// Regular interval check
 			}
 
-			// Check if auto-update is enabled
+			// Always check for updates
+			available, resp := u.checkForUpdate(ctx)
+			if !available {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			// Update is available - check if auto-update is enabled
 			settings, err := u.Store.Settings()
 			if err != nil {
 				slog.Error("failed to load settings", "error", err)
@@ -313,22 +319,19 @@ func (u *Updater) StartBackgroundUpdaterChecker(ctx context.Context, cb func(str
 			}
 
 			if !settings.AutoUpdateEnabled {
-				// When auto-update is disabled, don't check or download anything
-				slog.Debug("auto-update disabled, skipping check")
+				// Auto-update disabled - don't download, just log
+				slog.Debug("update available but auto-update disabled", "version", resp.UpdateVersion)
 				continue
 			}
 
-			// Auto-update is enabled - proceed with normal flow
-			available, resp := u.checkForUpdate(ctx)
-			if available {
-				err := u.DownloadNewRelease(ctx, resp)
+			// Auto-update is enabled - download and notify
+			err = u.DownloadNewRelease(ctx, resp)
+			if err != nil {
+				slog.Error("failed to download new release", "error", err)
+			} else {
+				err = cb(resp.UpdateVersion)
 				if err != nil {
-					slog.Error("failed to download new release", "error", err)
-				} else {
-					err = cb(resp.UpdateVersion)
-					if err != nil {
-						slog.Warn("failed to register update available with tray", "error", err)
-					}
+					slog.Warn("failed to register update available with tray", "error", err)
 				}
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/app/version/version.go b/app/version/version.go
index 7c0bdc5ac..5955d601c 100644
--- a/app/version/version.go
+++ b/app/version/version.go
@@ -2,39 +2,4 @@
 
 package version
 
-import (
-	"os/exec"
-	"runtime/debug"
-	"strings"
-)
-
 var Version string = "0.0.0"
-
-// GetVersion returns the version, with fallback to git or build info
-func GetVersion() string {
-	// If version is set via ldflags, use it
-	if Version != "" && Version != "0.0.0" {
-		return Version
-	}
-
-	// Try to get from build info
-	if buildinfo, ok := debug.ReadBuildInfo(); ok {
-		if buildinfo.Main.Version != "" && buildinfo.Main.Version != "(devel)" {
-			return buildinfo.Main.Version
-		}
-	}
-
-	// In development, try to get from git
-	if cmd := exec.Command("git", "describe", "--tags", "--first-parent", "--abbrev=7", "--long", "--dirty", "--always"); cmd != nil {
-		if output, err := cmd.Output(); err == nil {
-			version := strings.TrimSpace(string(output))
-			version = strings.TrimPrefix(version, "v")
-			if version != "" {
-				return version
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	// Fallback
-	return "dev"
-}