diff --git a/.profile b/.profile
index ff7b2958..b31a0968 100644
--- a/.profile
+++ b/.profile
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 # https://tratt.net/laurie/blog/2024/faster_shell_startup_with_shell_switching.html
-if [[ $- == *"i"* ]]; then
-  exec zsh
-fi
+case $- in
+  *i* )
+    if command -v zsh > /dev/null; then
+        # make sure zsh actually runs
+        zsh --version > /dev/null && exec zsh
+        echo "Couldn't run 'zsh'" > /dev/stderr
+    fi
+    ;;
+esac