diff --git a/includes/class-wc-download-handler.php b/includes/class-wc-download-handler.php
index fa279c8c6fd..00022f818b0 100644
--- a/includes/class-wc-download-handler.php
+++ b/includes/class-wc-download-handler.php
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ class WC_Download_Handler {
 		/**
 		 * Fallback on force download method for remote files. This is because:
 		 * 1. xsendfile needs proxy configuration to work for remote files, which cannot be assumed to be available on most hosts.
-		 * 2. Force download method is more secure than redirect method if `allow_url_fopen` is enabled in `php.ini`. We fallback to redirect method in force download method anyway in case `allow_url_fopen` is not enabled.
+		 * 2. Force download method is more secure than redirect method if `allow_url_fopen` is enabled in `php.ini`.
 		 */
 		if ( $parsed_file_path['remote_file'] && ! apply_filters( 'woocommerce_use_xsendfile_for_remote', false ) ) {
 			do_action( 'woocommerce_download_file_force', $file_path, $filename );
@@ -435,11 +435,7 @@ class WC_Download_Handler {
 		$start  = isset( $download_range['start'] ) ? $download_range['start'] : 0;
 		$length = isset( $download_range['length'] ) ? $download_range['length'] : 0;
 		if ( ! self::readfile_chunked( $parsed_file_path['file_path'], $start, $length ) ) {
-			if ( $parsed_file_path['remote_file'] ) {
-				self::download_file_redirect( $file_path );
-			} else {
-				self::download_error( __( 'File not found', 'woocommerce' ) );
-			}
+			self::download_error( __( 'File not found', 'woocommerce' ) );
 		}
 
 		exit;
@@ -620,6 +616,15 @@ class WC_Download_Handler {
 	 * @param integer $status  Error status.
 	 */
 	private static function download_error( $message, $title = '', $status = 404 ) {
+		/*
+		 * Since we will now render a message instead of serving a download, we should unwind some of the previously set
+		 * headers.
+		 */
+		header( 'Content-Type: ' . get_option( 'html_type' ) . '; charset=' . get_option( 'blog_charset' ) );
+		header_remove( 'Content-Description;' );
+		header_remove( 'Content-Disposition' );
+		header_remove( 'Content-Transfer-Encoding' );
+
 		if ( ! strstr( $message, '<a ' ) ) {
 			$message .= ' <a href="' . esc_url( wc_get_page_permalink( 'shop' ) ) . '" class="wc-forward">' . esc_html__( 'Go to shop', 'woocommerce' ) . '</a>';
 		}