diff --git a/docs/features/CONFIGURATION.md b/docs/features/CONFIGURATION.md
index 3f05c0cf9b..f4163a3d70 100644
--- a/docs/features/CONFIGURATION.md
+++ b/docs/features/CONFIGURATION.md
@@ -119,19 +119,19 @@ The provided token will be added as a `Bearer` token to the network requests to
 
 #### Model Hashing
 
-Models are hashed during installation, providing a stable identifier for models across all platforms. The default algorithm is `blake3`, with a multi-threaded implementation.
-
-If your models are stored on a spinning hard drive, we suggest using `blake3_single`, the single-threaded implementation. The hashes are the same, but it's much faster on spinning disks.
+Models are hashed during installation, providing a stable identifier for models across all platforms. Hashing is a one-time operation.
 
 ```yaml
 hashing_algorithm: blake3_single
 ```
 
-Model hashing is a one-time operation, but it may take a couple minutes to hash a large model collection. You may opt out of model hashing entirely by setting the algorithm to `random`.
+You might want to change this setting, depending on your system:
 
-```yaml
-hashing_algorithm: random
-```
+- `blake3_single` (default): Single-threaded - best for spinning HDDs, still OK for SSDs
+- `blake3`: Parallelized, memory-mapped implementation - best for SSDs, terrible for spinning disks
+- `random`: Skip hashing entirely - fastest but of course no hash
+
+During the first startup after upgrading to v4, all of your models will be hashed. This can take a few minutes.
 
 Most common algorithms are supported, like `md5`, `sha256`, and `sha512`. These are typically much, much slower than `blake3`.
 
diff --git a/invokeai/app/services/config/config_default.py b/invokeai/app/services/config/config_default.py
index 9329122cee..7b58e5ebc9 100644
--- a/invokeai/app/services/config/config_default.py
+++ b/invokeai/app/services/config/config_default.py
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ class InvokeAIAppConfig(BaseSettings):
     node_cache_size:                int = Field(default=512,                description="How many cached nodes to keep in memory.")
 
     # MODEL INSTALL
-    hashing_algorithm: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = Field(default="blake3",         description="Model hashing algorthim for model installs. 'blake3' is best for SSDs. 'blake3_single' is best for spinning disk HDDs. 'random' disables hashing, instead assigning a UUID to models. Useful when using a memory db to reduce model installation time, or if you don't care about storing stable hashes for models. Alternatively, any other hashlib algorithm is accepted, though these are not nearly as performant as blake3.")
+    hashing_algorithm: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = Field(default="blake3_single",  description="Model hashing algorthim for model installs. 'blake3' is best for SSDs. 'blake3_single' is best for spinning disk HDDs. 'random' disables hashing, instead assigning a UUID to models. Useful when using a memory db to reduce model installation time, or if you don't care about storing stable hashes for models. Alternatively, any other hashlib algorithm is accepted, though these are not nearly as performant as blake3.")
     remote_api_tokens: Optional[list[URLRegexTokenPair]] = Field(default=None, description="List of regular expression and token pairs used when downloading models from URLs. The download URL is tested against the regex, and if it matches, the token is provided in as a Bearer token.")
 
     # fmt: on
diff --git a/invokeai/backend/model_hash/model_hash.py b/invokeai/backend/model_hash/model_hash.py
index bd8b7e8870..479df9dcfd 100644
--- a/invokeai/backend/model_hash/model_hash.py
+++ b/invokeai/backend/model_hash/model_hash.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class ModelHash:
     """
 
     def __init__(
-        self, algorithm: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = "blake3", file_filter: Optional[Callable[[str], bool]] = None
+        self, algorithm: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = "blake3_single", file_filter: Optional[Callable[[str], bool]] = None
     ) -> None:
         self.algorithm: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = algorithm
         if algorithm == "blake3":
diff --git a/invokeai/backend/model_manager/probe.py b/invokeai/backend/model_manager/probe.py
index bb4d2621e6..6d71cceaea 100644
--- a/invokeai/backend/model_manager/probe.py
+++ b/invokeai/backend/model_manager/probe.py
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ class ModelProbe(object):
 
     @classmethod
     def probe(
-        cls, model_path: Path, fields: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None, hash_algo: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = "blake3"
+        cls, model_path: Path, fields: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None, hash_algo: HASHING_ALGORITHMS = "blake3_single"
     ) -> AnyModelConfig:
         """
         Probe the model at model_path and return its configuration record.
diff --git a/scripts/probe-model.py b/scripts/probe-model.py
index eca0f4c415..c04fd5c961 100755
--- a/scripts/probe-model.py
+++ b/scripts/probe-model.py
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ parser.add_argument(
 parser.add_argument(
     "--hash_algo",
     type=str,
-    default="blake3",
-    help=f"Hashing algorithm to use (default: blake3), one of: {algos}",
+    default="blake3_single",
+    help=f"Hashing algorithm to use (default: blake3_single), one of: {algos}",
 )
 args = parser.parse_args()