diff --git a/R/cats_download_helper.R b/R/cats_download_helper.R
index 6f65da05bbcb4ba013980f21bf270c8f05eea8c2..bcda2939bd6039f0f9ae6cca0568ef993a345dcc 100644
--- a/R/cats_download_helper.R
+++ b/R/cats_download_helper.R
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ download_cats_quickstart_data <- function(install.dir, redownload = F, reextract
         timeout <- R.utils::getOption("timeout")
         R.utils::setOption("timeout", 3600)
         result <-
-            utils::download.file(newest_url, destfile = destination_file)
+            utils::download.file(newest_url, destfile = destination_file, mode="wb")
         R.utils::setOption("timeout", timeout)
 
         if (result != 0) {
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ download_cats_for_windows <- function(install.dir, redownload = F, reextract = F
         print(sprintf("Downloading %s to %s", newest_url, destination_file))
         timeout <- R.utils::getOption("timeout")
         result <-
-            utils::download.file(newest_url, destfile = destination_file)
+            utils::download.file(newest_url, destfile = destination_file, mode="wb")
         R.utils::setOption("timeout", timeout)
         if (result != 0) {
             stop("Error downloading CATS")