diff --git a/scripts/install.ps1 b/scripts/install.ps1
index 75528d90..2ab3e12c 100644
--- a/scripts/install.ps1
+++ b/scripts/install.ps1
@@ -189,7 +189,15 @@ function Download($download_url, $platforms) {
     if ($auth_token) {
         $wc.Headers["Authorization"] = "Bearer $auth_token"
     }
-    $wc.downloadFile($url, $dir_path)
+    try {
+        $wc.DownloadFile($url, $dir_path)
+    } catch [System.Net.WebException] {
+        $statusCode = [int]$_.Exception.Response.StatusCode
+        if ($statusCode -eq 403) {
+            throw "Error: dbc is not available for your platform: ($arch). Please create an issue at https://github.com/columnar-tech/dbc/issues or contact support@columnar.tech for assistance."
+        }
+        throw "Error: Failed to download $url. HTTP Status Code: $statusCode"
+    }    
 
     Write-Verbose "Unpacking to $tmp"
 
diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index 6a6ae854..d05c1525 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -1374,22 +1374,33 @@ downloader() {
     else _dld='curl or wget' # to be used in error message of need_cmd
     fi
 
+    SUCCESS=0
+    HTTP_STATUS=0
     if [ "$1" = --check ]
     then need_cmd "$_dld"
     elif [ "$_dld" = curl ]; then
         if [ -n "${AUTH_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
-            curl -sSfL --header "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" "$1" -o "$2"
+            HTTP_STATUS=$(curl -sSfL --header "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" "$1" -o "$2" -w "%{http_code}" 2> /dev/null)
+            SUCCESS=$?
         else
-            curl -sSfL "$1" -o "$2"
+            HTTP_STATUS=$(curl -sSfL "$1" -o "$2" -w "%{http_code}" 2> /dev/null)
+            SUCCESS=$?
         fi
     elif [ "$_dld" = wget ]; then
         if [ -n "${AUTH_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
-            wget --header "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" "$1" -O "$2"
+            HTTP_STATUS=$(wget -NS --header "Authorization: Bearer ${AUTH_TOKEN}" "$1" -O "$2" 2>&1 | grep "HTTP/" | awk '{print $2}')
+            SUCCESS=$?
         else
-            wget "$1" -O "$2"
+            HTTP_STATUS=$(wget -NS "$1" -O "$2" 2>&1 | grep "HTTP/" | awk '{print $2}')
+            SUCCESS=$?
         fi
     else err "Unknown downloader"   # should not reach here
     fi
+
+    if [ "$SUCCESS" -ne 0 ] || [ "$HTTP_STATUS" -eq 403 ]; then
+        say "Error: dbc is not available for your platform. Please create an issue at https://github.com/columnar-tech/dbc/issues or contact support@columnar.tech for assistance."
+        exit 1
+    fi
 }
 
 download_binary_and_run_installer "$@" || exit 1