diff --git a/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh b/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
index f7ee7f33..193e5c9c 100755
--- a/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
+++ b/docs/devops/single_azure_vm/setup.sh
@@ -206,10 +206,14 @@ DJSON
   log "Waiting for Ollama API..."
   wait_for_url "http://localhost:11434/api/version" 30
 
-  # Pull default model
+  # Pull default model (non-fatal — LocalMemGPT needs it but other products don't)
   log "Pulling Ollama model: ${OLLAMA_MODEL} (this may take a few minutes)..."
-  ollama pull "$OLLAMA_MODEL" 2>&1 | tail -3
-  ok "Ollama ready with model: ${OLLAMA_MODEL}"
+  if ollama pull "$OLLAMA_MODEL" 2>&1 | tail -3; then
+    ok "Ollama ready with model: ${OLLAMA_MODEL}"
+  else
+    warn "Ollama model pull failed (network issue?). LocalMemGPT may not work."
+    warn "  Retry later: ollama pull ${OLLAMA_MODEL}"
+  fi
 
   # ── Create install directory ───────────────────────────────────────
   mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR"