diff --git a/mole b/mole
index 076176c..4192973 100755
--- a/mole
+++ b/mole
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/lib/core/common.sh"
 
 # Version info
-VERSION="1.11.8"
+VERSION="1.11.9"
 MOLE_TAGLINE="can dig deep to clean your Mac."
 
 # Check if Touch ID is already configured
@@ -38,13 +38,15 @@ get_latest_version() {
         grep '^VERSION=' | head -1 | sed 's/VERSION="\(.*\)"/\1/'
 }
 
-# Get latest version from Homebrew for brew-installed Mole
-get_latest_brew_version() {
-    if ! command -v brew > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-        return 1
-    fi
-
-    brew info --json=v2 mole 2> /dev/null | grep -o '"version":"[^"]*"' | head -1 | sed 's/"version":"\(.*\)"/\1/'
+# Get latest version from GitHub API
+# This works for both Homebrew and manual installs since versions are synced
+get_latest_version_from_github() {
+    local version
+    version=$(curl -fsSL --connect-timeout 2 --max-time 3 \
+        "https://api.github.com/repos/tw93/mole/releases/latest" 2> /dev/null |
+        grep '"tag_name"' | head -1 | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+    # Remove 'v' or 'V' prefix if present
+    echo "$version" | sed 's/^[vV]//'
 }
 
 # Check if installed via Homebrew
@@ -69,21 +71,17 @@ check_for_updates() {
     # Background version check (save to file, don't output)
     (
         local latest
-        local check_method=""
+        local check_method="github"
 
-        # For Homebrew installations, check Homebrew version
-        if is_homebrew_install; then
-            latest=$(get_latest_brew_version)
-            check_method="brew"
-            [[ -n "${MO_UPDATE_DEBUG:-}" ]] && echo "$(date): Checking via Homebrew, got: $latest" >> "$debug_log"
-        fi
-
-        # Fallback to GitHub for non-brew or if brew check failed
+        # Use GitHub API for version check (works for both Homebrew and manual installs)
+        # Try API first (faster and more reliable)
+        latest=$(get_latest_version_from_github)
         if [[ -z "$latest" ]]; then
+            # Fallback to parsing mole script from raw GitHub
             latest=$(get_latest_version)
-            check_method="github"
-            [[ -n "${MO_UPDATE_DEBUG:-}" ]] && echo "$(date): Checking via GitHub, got: $latest" >> "$debug_log"
+            check_method="github-raw"
         fi
+        [[ -n "${MO_UPDATE_DEBUG:-}" ]] && echo "$(date): Checking via $check_method, got: $latest" >> "$debug_log"
 
         if [[ -n "$latest" && "$VERSION" != "$latest" && "$(printf '%s\n' "$VERSION" "$latest" | sort -V | head -1)" == "$VERSION" ]]; then
             printf "\nUpdate available: %s → %s, run %smo update%s\n\n" "$VERSION" "$latest" "$GREEN" "$NC" > "$msg_cache"
@@ -198,7 +196,9 @@ update_mole() {
 
     # Check for updates
     local latest
-    latest=$(get_latest_version)
+    latest=$(get_latest_version_from_github)
+    # Fallback to raw GitHub if API fails
+    [[ -z "$latest" ]] && latest=$(get_latest_version)
 
     if [[ -z "$latest" ]]; then
         log_error "Unable to check for updates. Check network connection."