diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5fac3475..657a04d8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -1931,9 +1931,202 @@ jobs:
         path: test/twister-out/twister.xml
 
   # Post test result check
+  test-downloader-fallback:
+    name: Test Downloader Fallback (${{ matrix.os }}, ${{ matrix.scenario }})
+    needs: [ setup, build-dist-bundle ]
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
+    
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          # Test curl fallback on Windows (remove wget)
+          - os: windows
+            runner: windows-2022
+            scenario: curl-only
+            bundle-host: windows-x86_64
+            bundle-archive: 7z
+            toolchain: arm-zephyr-eabi
+            
+          # Test wget on Windows (explicit /dl wget flag)
+          - os: windows
+            runner: windows-2022
+            scenario: wget-explicit
+            bundle-host: windows-x86_64
+            bundle-archive: 7z
+            toolchain: arm-zephyr-eabi
+            
+          # Test curl explicit on Windows
+          - os: windows
+            runner: windows-2022
+            scenario: curl-explicit
+            bundle-host: windows-x86_64
+            bundle-archive: 7z
+            toolchain: arm-zephyr-eabi
+            
+          # Test curl fallback on macOS (no wget by default)
+          - os: macos
+            runner: macos-13
+            scenario: curl-fallback
+            bundle-host: macos-x86_64
+            bundle-archive: tar.xz
+            toolchain: arm-zephyr-eabi
+            
+          # Test curl fallback on Linux (remove wget)
+          - os: linux
+            runner: ubuntu-24.04
+            scenario: curl-only
+            bundle-host: linux-x86_64
+            bundle-archive: tar.xz
+            toolchain: arm-zephyr-eabi
+    
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        shell: bash
+    
+    steps:
+    - name: Check out source code
+      if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request_target' }}
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+        persist-credentials: false
+    
+    - name: Check out source code (pull request)
+      if: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' }}
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      with:
+        ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
+        fetch-depth: 0
+        persist-credentials: false
+    
+    - name: Set up test environment (Windows)
+      if: ${{ matrix.os == 'windows' }}
+      run: |
+        # Install required packages (excluding wget for curl-only test)
+        if [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-only" ]; then
+          choco install cmake 7zip
+          echo "Testing curl-only fallback (wget not installed)"
+        elif [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "wget-explicit" ]; then
+          choco install cmake 7zip wget
+          echo "Testing explicit wget flag"
+        elif [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-explicit" ]; then
+          choco install cmake 7zip
+          echo "Testing explicit curl flag"
+        fi
+        
+        # Verify which tools are available
+        echo "=== Available download tools ==="
+        which wget && echo "wget: $(which wget)" || echo "wget: NOT FOUND"
+        which curl && echo "curl: $(which curl)" || echo "curl: NOT FOUND"
+        echo "================================"
+    
+    - name: Set up test environment (macOS)
+      if: ${{ matrix.os == 'macos' }}
+      run: |
+        # macOS has curl by default but not wget
+        echo "Testing curl fallback on macOS (wget not installed by default)"
+        
+        # Verify which tools are available
+        echo "=== Available download tools ==="
+        which wget && echo "wget: $(which wget)" || echo "wget: NOT FOUND"
+        which curl && echo "curl: $(which curl)" || echo "curl: NOT FOUND"
+        echo "================================"
+    
+    - name: Set up test environment (Linux)
+      if: ${{ matrix.os == 'linux' }}
+      run: |
+        # Remove wget to force curl fallback
+        if [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-only" ]; then
+          sudo apt-get remove -y wget
+          echo "Testing curl-only fallback (wget removed)"
+        fi
+        
+        # Verify which tools are available
+        echo "=== Available download tools ==="
+        which wget && echo "wget: $(which wget)" || echo "wget: NOT FOUND"
+        which curl && echo "curl: $(which curl)" || echo "curl: NOT FOUND"
+        echo "================================"
+    
+    - name: Download version information
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        name: version
+        path: artifacts
+    
+    - name: Resolve distribution bundle name
+      run: |
+        VERSION=$(<artifacts/version)
+        BUNDLE_NAME=${{ env.BUNDLE_PREFIX }}-${VERSION}_${{ matrix.bundle-host }}
+        BUNDLE_DIR=${{ env.BUNDLE_PREFIX }}-${VERSION}
+        echo "BUNDLE_NAME=${BUNDLE_NAME}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        echo "BUNDLE_DIR=${BUNDLE_DIR}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        echo "Testing with bundle: ${BUNDLE_NAME}"
+    
+    - name: Download minimal distribution bundle
+      run: |
+        # Download minimal bundle for testing (just one toolchain)
+        gh run download \
+          -R ${GITHUB_REPOSITORY} \
+          ${GITHUB_RUN_ID} \
+          -n ${BUNDLE_NAME} \
+          -D artifacts
+      env:
+        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+    
+    - name: Extract distribution bundle
+      run: |
+        mkdir -p tools
+        BUNDLE_FILE=${BUNDLE_NAME}_minimal.${{ matrix.bundle-archive }}
+        
+        if [ "${{ matrix.bundle-archive }}" == "tar.xz" ]; then
+          tar -Jxf artifacts/${BUNDLE_FILE} -C tools || true
+        elif [ "${{ matrix.bundle-archive }}" == "7z" ]; then
+          7z x -otools artifacts/${BUNDLE_FILE} || true
+        fi
+    
+    - name: Test setup script with scenario (${{ matrix.scenario }})
+      run: |
+        cd tools/${BUNDLE_DIR}
+        
+        if [ "${{ matrix.os }}" == "windows" ]; then
+          # Windows batch script
+          if [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-only" ]; then
+            echo "Testing automatic fallback to curl..."
+            ./setup.cmd /t ${{ matrix.toolchain }} /c || exit 1
+          elif [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "wget-explicit" ]; then
+            echo "Testing explicit wget..."
+            ./setup.cmd /t ${{ matrix.toolchain }} /c /dl wget || exit 1
+          elif [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-explicit" ]; then
+            echo "Testing explicit curl..."
+            ./setup.cmd /t ${{ matrix.toolchain }} /c /dl curl || exit 1
+          fi
+        else
+          # POSIX shell script
+          if [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-fallback" ] || [ "${{ matrix.scenario }}" == "curl-only" ]; then
+            echo "Testing automatic fallback to curl..."
+            ./setup.sh -t ${{ matrix.toolchain }} -c || exit 1
+          fi
+        fi
+        
+        echo "✅ Setup script completed successfully with ${{ matrix.scenario }}"
+    
+    - name: Verify toolchain installation
+      run: |
+        cd tools/${BUNDLE_DIR}
+        
+        # Check that the toolchain was actually installed
+        if [ -d "gnu/${{ matrix.toolchain }}" ]; then
+          echo "✅ Toolchain ${{ matrix.toolchain }} installed successfully"
+          ls -la gnu/${{ matrix.toolchain }}
+        else
+          echo "❌ ERROR: Toolchain directory not found!"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
   test-result:
     name: Test Result
-    needs: [ test-dist-bundle ]
+    needs: [ test-dist-bundle, test-downloader-fallback ]
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     # NOTE: The 'test-result' job depends on the 'test-dist-bundle' job and
diff --git a/scripts/template_setup_posix b/scripts/template_setup_posix
index 036e27d0..df862407 100644
--- a/scripts/template_setup_posix
+++ b/scripts/template_setup_posix
@@ -48,6 +48,13 @@ check_command()
   fi
 }
 
+# Silently check if command is available (for fallback logic)
+check_command_silent()
+{
+  which $1 &> /dev/null
+  return $?
+}
+
 # Check if the current installation is a full SDK with all GNU toolchains
 check_full_gnu_sdk()
 {
@@ -60,6 +67,31 @@ check_full_gnu_sdk()
   return 0
 }
 
+# Download helper function
+# Usage: download URL OUTFILE
+download()
+{
+  local url="$1"
+  local outfile="$2"
+  
+  if [ "${dl_tool}" = "wget" ]; then
+    # Emulate quiet+progress+timestamping
+    wget -q --show-progress -N -O "${outfile}" "${url}"
+    return $?
+  else
+    # curl: -f fail on HTTP errors; -L follow redirects
+    # --remote-time preserves Last-Modified on the file
+    # -z OUTFILE does conditional GET (only download if newer)
+    # --progress-bar shows progress
+    if [ -f "${outfile}" ]; then
+      curl -fL --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --progress-bar --remote-time -z "${outfile}" -o "${outfile}" "${url}"
+    else
+      curl -fL --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --progress-bar --remote-time -o "${outfile}" "${url}"
+    fi
+    return $?
+  fi
+}
+
 # Display script usage
 usage()
 {
@@ -71,6 +103,7 @@ usage()
   echo "  -h                   Install host tools"
   echo "  -o                   Create symbolic links matching the old SDK layout for old Zephyr (< 4.3) bisectability"
   echo "  -c                   Register Zephyr SDK CMake package"
+  echo "  -dl <curl|wget>      Force downloader (default: wget, fallback to curl)"
   echo
   echo "Supported GNU Toolchains:"
   echo
@@ -162,9 +195,20 @@ else
       -c)
         do_cmake_pkg="y"
         ;;
+      -dl)
+        shift
+        if [[ "$1" = "curl" ]]; then
+          dl_force="curl"
+        elif [[ "$1" = "wget" ]]; then
+          dl_force="wget"
+        else
+          echo "ERROR: -dl expects <curl|wget>"
+          exit 3
+        fi
+        ;;
       -o)
-	do_old_zephyr="y"
-	;;
+        do_old_zephyr="y"
+        ;;
       '-?')
         usage
         exit 0
@@ -213,7 +257,43 @@ echo
 
 # Check dependencies
 check_command cmake 90
-check_command wget 91
+
+# Choose downloader (default: wget; fallback to curl). Allow -dl override.
+dl_tool=""
+
+if [ "${dl_force}" = "curl" ]; then
+  check_command_silent curl
+  if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+    dl_tool="curl"
+  else
+    echo "ERROR: -dl curl requested but 'curl' not found in PATH."
+    exit 91
+  fi
+elif [ "${dl_force}" = "wget" ]; then
+  check_command_silent wget
+  if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+    dl_tool="wget"
+  else
+    echo "ERROR: -dl wget requested but 'wget' not found in PATH."
+    exit 91
+  fi
+else
+  # Default behavior: prefer wget, else curl
+  check_command_silent wget
+  if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+    dl_tool="wget"
+  else
+    check_command_silent curl
+    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+      dl_tool="curl"
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [ -z "${dl_tool}" ]; then
+  echo "Zephyr SDK setup requires either 'wget' or 'curl' in PATH."
+  exit 91
+fi
 
 # Ask for user inputs if no argument is specified
 if [ "${interactive}" = "y" ]; then
@@ -238,7 +318,7 @@ if [ "${do_gnu_toolchain}" = "y" ]; then
     echo "Installing '${toolchain}' GNU toolchain ..."
 
     # Download toolchain archive
-    wget -q --show-progress -N -O "${toolchain_filename}" "${toolchain_uri}"
+    download "${toolchain_uri}" "${toolchain_filename}"
     if [ $? != 0 ]; then
       rm -f "${toolchain_filename}"
       echo "ERROR: GNU toolchain download failed"
@@ -265,7 +345,7 @@ if [ "${do_llvm_toolchain}" = "y" ] && [ ! -d "llvm" ]; then
   toolchain_uri="${dl_rel_base}/${toolchain_filename}"
 
   # Download toolchain archive
-  wget -q --show-progress -N -O "${toolchain_filename}" "${toolchain_uri}"
+  download "${toolchain_uri}" "${toolchain_filename}"
   if [ $? != 0 ]; then
     rm -f "${toolchain_filename}"
     echo "ERROR: LLVM toolchain download failed"
diff --git a/scripts/template_setup_win b/scripts/template_setup_win
index ebb29a2d..1c8b3519 100644
--- a/scripts/template_setup_win
+++ b/scripts/template_setup_win
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ if [%ERRORLEVEL%] neq [0] (
 )
 exit /b 0
 
+REM # Silently check if command is available (for fallback logic)
+:check_command_silent
+where %1 >nul 2>&1
+exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
+
 :entry
 
 REM # Initialise GNU toolchain list
@@ -53,8 +58,7 @@ REM # Check dependencies
 
 call :check_command cmake 90
 if [%ERRORLEVEL%] neq [0] goto end
-call :check_command wget 91
-if [%ERRORLEVEL%] neq [0] goto end
+
 call :check_command 7z 92
 if [%ERRORLEVEL%] neq [0] goto end
 
@@ -81,6 +85,17 @@ if /i [%1] equ [/t] (
   )
   set DO_GNU_TOOLCHAIN=y
   shift
+) else if /i [%1] equ [/dl] (
+  if /i [%2] equ [curl] (
+    set DL_FORCE=curl
+  ) else if /i [%2] equ [wget] (
+    set DL_FORCE=wget
+  ) else (
+    echo ERROR: /dl expects ^<curl^|wget^>
+    set EXITCODE=3
+    goto end
+  )
+  shift
 ) else if /i [%1] equ [/l] (
   set DO_LLVM_TOOLCHAIN=y
 ) else if /i [%1] equ [/h] (
@@ -144,7 +159,71 @@ if [%ERRORLEVEL%] equ [1] set DO_CMAKE_PKG=y
 
 echo.
 
+REM # Download helper
+REM # usage: call :download URL OUTFILE
+:download
+setlocal ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
+set _URL=%~1
+set _OUT=%~2
+
+if /i [%DL_TOOL%] equ [wget] (
+  REM Emulate quiet+progress+timestamping:
+  wget -q --show-progress -N -O "!_OUT!" "!_URL!"
+  endlocal & exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
+) else (
+  REM curl: -f fail on HTTP errors; -L follow redirects
+  REM --remote-time preserves Last-Modified on the file
+  REM -z OUTFILE does conditional GET (only download if newer)
+  REM Replace the --progress-bar with an -sS to make it quiet if needed
+  if exist "!_OUT!" (
+    curl.exe -fL --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --progress-bar --remote-time -z "!_OUT!" -o "!_OUT!" "!_URL!"
+  ) else (
+    curl.exe -fL --retry 5 --retry-delay 2 --progress-bar --remote-time -o "!_OUT!" "!_URL!"
+  )
+  endlocal & exit /b %ERRORLEVEL%
+)
+
 :process
+REM # Choose downloader (default: wget; fallback to curl). Allow /dl override.
+set DL_TOOL=
+
+if /i [%DL_FORCE%] equ [curl] (
+  call :check_command curl 91
+  if [!ERRORLEVEL!] equ [0] (
+    set DL_TOOL=curl
+  ) else (
+    echo ERROR: /dl curl requested but 'curl' not found in PATH.
+    set EXITCODE=91
+    goto end
+  )
+) else if /i [%DL_FORCE%] equ [wget] (
+  call :check_command wget 91
+  if [!ERRORLEVEL!] equ [0] (
+    set DL_TOOL=wget
+  ) else (
+    echo ERROR: /dl wget requested but 'wget' not found in PATH.
+    set EXITCODE=91
+    goto end
+  )
+) else (
+  REM Default behavior: prefer wget, else curl
+  call :check_command_silent wget
+  if [!ERRORLEVEL!] equ [0] (
+    set DL_TOOL=wget
+  ) else (
+    call :check_command_silent curl
+    if [!ERRORLEVEL!] equ [0] (
+      set DL_TOOL=curl
+    )
+  )
+)
+
+if [%DL_TOOL%] equ [] (
+  echo Zephyr SDK setup requires either 'wget' or 'curl' in PATH.
+  set EXITCODE=91
+  goto end
+)
+
 REM # Install GNU toolchains
 if [%DO_GNU_TOOLCHAIN%] neq [] (
   if not exist gnu\ mkdir gnu
@@ -158,7 +237,7 @@ if [%DO_GNU_TOOLCHAIN%] neq [] (
       echo Installing '%%t' GNU toolchain ...
 
       REM # Download toolchain archive
-      wget -q --show-progress -N -O !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME! !TOOLCHAIN_URI!
+      call :download !TOOLCHAIN_URI! !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME!
       if [!ERRORLEVEL!] neq [0] (
         del /q !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME!
         echo ERROR: GNU toolchain download failed
@@ -190,7 +269,7 @@ if [%DO_LLVM_TOOLCHAIN%] neq [] (
     set TOOLCHAIN_URI=%DL_REL_BASE%/!TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME!
 
     REM # Download toolchain archive
-    wget -q --show-progress -N -O !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME! !TOOLCHAIN_URI!
+    call :download !TOOLCHAIN_URI! !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME!
     if [!ERRORLEVEL!] neq [0] (
       del /q !TOOLCHAIN_FILENAME!
       echo ERROR: LLVM toolchain download failed
@@ -243,6 +322,7 @@ echo      all               Install all GNU toolchains
 echo   /l                   Install LLVM toolchain
 echo   /h                   Install host tools
 echo   /c                   Register Zephyr SDK CMake package
+echo   /dl ^<curl^|wget^>     Force downloader (default: wget, fallback to curl)
 echo.
 echo Supported GNU Toolchains:
 echo.