diff --git a/server/utils/ffmpegHelpers.js b/server/utils/ffmpegHelpers.js
index 357a2084..9c88ef71 100644
--- a/server/utils/ffmpegHelpers.js
+++ b/server/utils/ffmpegHelpers.js
@@ -103,39 +103,18 @@ module.exports.resizeImage = resizeImage
  */
 module.exports.downloadPodcastEpisode = (podcastEpisodeDownload) => {
   return new Promise(async (resolve) => {
-    // Some podcasts fail due to user agent strings
-    // See: https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf/issues/3246 (requires iTMS user agent)
-    // See: https://github.com/advplyr/audiobookshelf/issues/4401 (requires no iTMS user agent)
-    const userAgents = ['audiobookshelf (+https://audiobookshelf.org; like iTMS)', 'audiobookshelf (+https://audiobookshelf.org)']
-
-    let response = null
-    let lastError = null
-
-    for (const userAgent of userAgents) {
-      try {
-        response = await axios({
-          url: podcastEpisodeDownload.url,
-          method: 'GET',
-          responseType: 'stream',
-          headers: {
-            'User-Agent': userAgent
-          },
-          timeout: global.PodcastDownloadTimeout
-        })
-
-        Logger.debug(`[ffmpegHelpers] Successfully connected with User-Agent: ${userAgent}`)
-        break
-      } catch (error) {
-        lastError = error
-        Logger.warn(`[ffmpegHelpers] Failed to download podcast episode with User-Agent "${userAgent}" for url "${podcastEpisodeDownload.url}"`, error.message)
-
-        // If this is the last attempt, log the full error
-        if (userAgent === userAgents[userAgents.length - 1]) {
-          Logger.error(`[ffmpegHelpers] All User-Agent attempts failed for url "${podcastEpisodeDownload.url}"`, lastError)
-        }
-      }
-    }
-
+    const response = await axios({
+      url: podcastEpisodeDownload.url,
+      method: 'GET',
+      responseType: 'stream',
+      headers: {
+        'User-Agent': 'audiobookshelf (+https://audiobookshelf.org)'
+      },
+      timeout: global.PodcastDownloadTimeout
+    }).catch((error) => {
+      Logger.error(`[ffmpegHelpers] Failed to download podcast episode with url "${podcastEpisodeDownload.url}"`, error)
+      return null
+    })
     if (!response) {
       return resolve({
         success: false