diff --git a/py/services/civitai_client.py b/py/services/civitai_client.py
index 13fc55c6..32d027c6 100644
--- a/py/services/civitai_client.py
+++ b/py/services/civitai_client.py
@@ -76,9 +76,15 @@ class CivitaiClient:
             headers = self._get_request_headers()
             async with session.get(url, headers=headers, allow_redirects=True) as response:
                 if response.status != 200:
-                    # Handle early access 401 unauthorized responses
+                    # Handle 401 unauthorized responses
                     if response.status == 401:
                         logger.warning(f"Unauthorized access to resource: {url} (Status 401)")
+                        
+                        # Check if this is an API key issue (has Set-Cookie headers)
+                        if 'Set-Cookie' in response.headers:
+                            return False, "Invalid or missing CivitAI API key. Please check your API key in settings."
+                        
+                        # Otherwise it's an early access restriction
                         return False, "Early access restriction: You must purchase early access to download this LoRA."
                     
                     # Handle other client errors that might be permission-related
@@ -251,4 +257,4 @@ class CivitaiClient:
             return None
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error getting hash from Civitai: {e}")
-            return None
\ No newline at end of file
+            return None
diff --git a/py/services/download_manager.py b/py/services/download_manager.py
index 5e6746f7..add2ce86 100644
--- a/py/services/download_manager.py
+++ b/py/services/download_manager.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class DownloadManager:
                 return {'success': False, 'error': 'Failed to fetch model metadata'}
 
             # Check if this is an early access LoRA
-            if 'earlyAccessEndsAt' in version_info:
+            if version_info.get('earlyAccessEndsAt'):
                 early_access_date = version_info.get('earlyAccessEndsAt', '')
                 # Convert to a readable date if possible
                 try: