diff --git a/src-tauri/src/core/utils/download.rs b/src-tauri/src/core/utils/download.rs
index 47b2d485d..ae34df25c 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/core/utils/download.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/core/utils/download.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ use crate::core::utils::normalize_path;
 use futures_util::StreamExt;
 use reqwest::header::{HeaderMap, HeaderName, HeaderValue};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::path::Component;
+use std::path::Prefix;
 use std::time::Duration;
 use tauri::{Emitter, State};
 use tokio::fs::File;
@@ -165,6 +167,24 @@ async fn _download_files_internal(
         let save_path = normalize_path(&save_path);
 
         // enforce scope
+        // Remove \\?\ prefix on Windows for correct path comparison
+        #[cfg(windows)]
+        let save_path = {
+            let mut comps = save_path.components();
+            if let Some(Component::Prefix(prefix_comp)) = comps.next() {
+                if let Prefix::Verbatim(_) = prefix_comp.kind() {
+                    // Skip the \\?\ prefix
+                    comps.as_path().to_path_buf()
+                } else {
+                    save_path.clone()
+                }
+            } else {
+                save_path.clone()
+            }
+        };
+        #[cfg(not(windows))]
+        let save_path = save_path.clone();
+
         if !save_path.starts_with(&jan_data_folder) {
             return Err(format!(
                 "Path {} is outside of Jan data folder {}",