diff --git a/mlx/distributed/ibv/CMakeLists.txt b/mlx/distributed/ibv/CMakeLists.txt
index 2ed69c075..7db9d3337 100644
--- a/mlx/distributed/ibv/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/mlx/distributed/ibv/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,8 @@
-target_sources(mlx PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ibv.cpp)
-target_link_libraries(mlx PRIVATE rdma)
+if(MLX_BUILD_CPU
+   AND ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "Darwin"
+   AND MACOS_SDK_VERSION GREATER_EQUAL 26.2)
+  target_sources(mlx PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ibv.cpp)
+  target_link_libraries(mlx PRIVATE rdma)
+else()
+  target_sources(mlx PRIVATE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/no_ibv.cpp)
+endif()
diff --git a/mlx/distributed/ibv/ibv.cpp b/mlx/distributed/ibv/ibv.cpp
index 84671c694..447ba7d2e 100644
--- a/mlx/distributed/ibv/ibv.cpp
+++ b/mlx/distributed/ibv/ibv.cpp
@@ -1077,7 +1077,9 @@ class IBVGroup : public GroupImpl {
 };
 
 bool is_available() {
-  return true;
+  if (__builtin_available(macOS 26.2, *)) {
+    return true;
+  }
 }
 
 std::shared_ptr<GroupImpl> init(bool strict /* = false */) {
diff --git a/mlx/distributed/ibv/no_ibv.cpp b/mlx/distributed/ibv/no_ibv.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2d2c00f95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mlx/distributed/ibv/no_ibv.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+// Copyright © 2025 Apple Inc.
+
+#include "mlx/distributed/ibv/ibv.h"
+
+namespace mlx::core::distributed::ibv {
+
+using GroupImpl = mlx::core::distributed::detail::GroupImpl;
+
+bool is_available() {
+  return false;
+}
+
+std::shared_ptr<GroupImpl> init(bool strict /* = false */) {
+  if (strict) {
+    throw std::runtime_error("Cannot initialize ibv distributed backend.");
+  }
+  return nullptr;
+}
+
+} // namespace mlx::core::distributed::ibv