diff --git a/prysm.bat b/prysm.bat
index 88759b64c..79b5d8712 100644
--- a/prysm.bat
+++ b/prysm.bat
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ if %WinOS%==64BIT (
 mkdir %wrapper_dir%
 
 REM get_prysm_version - Find the latest Prysm version available for download.
-for /f %%i in ('curl -s https://prysmaticlabs.com/releases/latest') do set prysm_version=%%i
+(for /f %%i in ('curl -f -s https://prysmaticlabs.com/releases/latest%27) do set prysm_version=%%i) || (echo ERROR: Starting prysm requires an internet connection.  && exit /b 1)
 echo Latest prysm release is %prysm_version%.
 IF defined USE_PRYSM_VERSION (
     echo detected variable USE_PRYSM_VERSION=%USE_PRYSM_VERSION%
diff --git a/prysm.sh b/prysm.sh
index ab608719a..4050af47b 100755
--- a/prysm.sh
+++ b/prysm.sh
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ function get_prysm_version() {
     else
         # Find the latest Prysm version available for download.
         readonly reason="automatically selected latest available version"
-        prysm_version=$(curl -s https://prysmaticlabs.com/releases/latest)
+        prysm_version=$(curl -f -s https://prysmaticlabs.com/releases/latest) || (color "31" "Starting prysm requires an internet connection." && exit 1)
         readonly prysm_version
     fi
 }