diff --git a/server/src/domain/job/job.service.spec.ts b/server/src/domain/job/job.service.spec.ts
index 859bc39f0b327..c37f1ad21eea6 100644
--- a/server/src/domain/job/job.service.spec.ts
+++ b/server/src/domain/job/job.service.spec.ts
@@ -159,6 +159,9 @@ describe(JobService.name, () => {
 
     it('should handle a start object tagging command', async () => {
       jobMock.getQueueStatus.mockResolvedValue({ isActive: false, isPaused: false });
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
 
       await sut.handleCommand(QueueName.OBJECT_TAGGING, { command: JobCommand.START, force: false });
 
diff --git a/server/src/domain/server-info/server-info.service.spec.ts b/server/src/domain/server-info/server-info.service.spec.ts
index 74aab12c7a502..46badfa52b546 100644
--- a/server/src/domain/server-info/server-info.service.spec.ts
+++ b/server/src/domain/server-info/server-info.service.spec.ts
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ describe(ServerInfoService.name, () => {
         passwordLogin: true,
         search: true,
         sidecar: true,
-        tagImage: true,
+        tagImage: false,
         configFile: false,
         trash: true,
       });
diff --git a/server/src/domain/smart-info/smart-info.service.spec.ts b/server/src/domain/smart-info/smart-info.service.spec.ts
index e3b5acce3f06f..5c4f5c3791e43 100644
--- a/server/src/domain/smart-info/smart-info.service.spec.ts
+++ b/server/src/domain/smart-info/smart-info.service.spec.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,12 @@ describe(SmartInfoService.name, () => {
   });
 
   describe('handleQueueObjectTagging', () => {
+    beforeEach(async () => {
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
+    });
+
     it('should do nothing if machine learning is disabled', async () => {
       configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([{ key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_ENABLED, value: false }]);
 
@@ -58,6 +64,9 @@ describe(SmartInfoService.name, () => {
     });
 
     it('should queue the assets without tags', async () => {
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
       assetMock.getWithout.mockResolvedValue({
         items: [assetStub.image],
         hasNextPage: false,
@@ -70,6 +79,9 @@ describe(SmartInfoService.name, () => {
     });
 
     it('should queue all the assets', async () => {
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
       assetMock.getAll.mockResolvedValue({
         items: [assetStub.image],
         hasNextPage: false,
@@ -103,6 +115,9 @@ describe(SmartInfoService.name, () => {
     });
 
     it('should save the returned tags', async () => {
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
       machineMock.classifyImage.mockResolvedValue(['tag1', 'tag2', 'tag3']);
 
       await sut.handleClassifyImage({ id: asset.id });
@@ -121,6 +136,9 @@ describe(SmartInfoService.name, () => {
     });
 
     it('should always overwrite old tags', async () => {
+      configMock.load.mockResolvedValue([
+        { key: SystemConfigKey.MACHINE_LEARNING_CLASSIFICATION_ENABLED, value: true },
+      ]);
       machineMock.classifyImage.mockResolvedValue([]);
 
       await sut.handleClassifyImage({ id: asset.id });
diff --git a/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.core.ts b/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.core.ts
index 5ec523afa09f9..2eeb8053803f3 100644
--- a/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.core.ts
+++ b/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.core.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ export const defaults = Object.freeze<SystemConfig>({
     enabled: process.env.IMMICH_MACHINE_LEARNING_ENABLED !== 'false',
     url: process.env.IMMICH_MACHINE_LEARNING_URL || 'http://immich-machine-learning:3003',
     classification: {
-      enabled: true,
+      enabled: false,
       modelName: 'microsoft/resnet-50',
       minScore: 0.9,
     },
diff --git a/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.service.spec.ts b/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.service.spec.ts
index c67fb9e4caa3c..4ab1880d691f9 100644
--- a/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.service.spec.ts
+++ b/server/src/domain/system-config/system-config.service.spec.ts
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ const updatedConfig = Object.freeze<SystemConfig>({
     enabled: true,
     url: 'http://immich-machine-learning:3003',
     classification: {
-      enabled: true,
+      enabled: false,
       modelName: 'microsoft/resnet-50',
       minScore: 0.9,
     },