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Verified for macOS Tahoe 26.2

How to Fix Apple Intelligence Downloading Stuck in macOS Tahoe 26.2

Symptom: You've joined the Apple Intelligence waitlist and been accepted, but the progress bar for "Downloading Models" is stuck at 0% or 1% for hours.

TL;DR fix

Start with Fix 1: Check Language & Region. If the issue persists after that, try Fix 2: Force Restart the Download Daemon. Full Terminal commands and step-by-step instructions are in each section below.

Why this happens

The Apple Intelligence models are several gigabytes in size. The download service (mobileassetd) often hangs if there is a regional mismatch in your Language & Region settings or if there is insufficient "purgeable" disk space.

Recommended Troubleshooting Tool

Before proceeding with manual fixes, we recommend using CleanMyMac X. Quickly identify high CPU apps and optimize system memory with one click.

Fix 1: Check Language & Region

  1. Go to System Settings > General > Language & Region.
  2. Ensure Primary Language is set to English (United States).
  3. Go to Apple Intelligence & Siri and ensure the language there also matches.
  4. Restart your Mac.

Fix 2: Force Restart the Download Daemon

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. Type sudo killall mobileassetd and press Enter.
  3. This process manages the background download of the AI models. It will restart automatically and often resume the stuck download.

Recommended Tool: CleanMyMac

You need at least 15-20GB of free space for the AI models to install.

- Download CleanMyMac to clear out large/old files and system junk, ensuring the Apple Intelligence models have plenty of "breathing room" to download and expand.

Tested and documented by the MacDebug team — about MacDebug. See also Photoshop & Adobe Apps Crashing on macOS Tahoe, Fix macOS "No AirPlay Found", or browse all guides on macdebug.