diff --git a/.vsts.ci.yml b/.vsts.ci.yml
index 9d3c3e35ae..c3f4bfe6a2 100644
--- a/.vsts.ci.yml
+++ b/.vsts.ci.yml
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ parameters:
 - name: alpine_arm64
   type: boolean
   displayName: Alpine (ARM64)
-  default: false
+  default: true
 - name: macOS_x64
   type: boolean
   displayName: macOS (x64)
diff --git a/src/Misc/externals.sh b/src/Misc/externals.sh
index 06ab9cacf6..cf79dfb762 100644
--- a/src/Misc/externals.sh
+++ b/src/Misc/externals.sh
@@ -36,15 +36,20 @@ else
 fi
 
 function failed() {
-   local error=${1:-Undefined error}
-   echo "Failed: $error" >&2
-   exit 1
+    local error=${1:-Undefined error}
+    local command_identifier=$2
+    echo "Failed: $error" >&2
+    if [[ $command_identifier == 'download_node_alpine_arm64' ]]; then
+        echo "Node for Alpine ARM64 not found in blob storage. If the version of Node (for tasks execution) has been updated, it should be built for Alpine ARM64 and uploaded to blob storage. Read documentation about the agent release for more info."
+    fi
+    exit 1
 }
 
 function checkRC() {
     local rc=$?
+    local command_identifier=$2
     if [ $rc -ne 0 ]; then
-        failed "${1} failed with return code $rc"
+        failed "${1} failed with return code $rc" $command_identifier
     fi
 }
 
@@ -56,6 +61,7 @@ function acquireExternalTool() {
                             # of the nested TEE-CLC-14.0.4 directory are moved up one directory, and then the empty directory
                             # TEE-CLC-14.0.4 is removed.
     local dont_uncompress=$4
+    local tool_name=$5
 
     # Extract the portion of the URL after the protocol. E.g. vstsagenttools.blob.core.windows.net/tools/pdbstr/1/pdbstr.zip
     local relative_url="${download_source#*://}"
@@ -84,7 +90,7 @@ function acquireExternalTool() {
             #      -S Show error. With -s, make curl show errors when they occur
             #      -L Follow redirects (H)
             #      -o FILE    Write to FILE instead of stdout
-            curl --retry 10 -fkSL -o "$partial_target" "$download_source" 2>"${download_target}_download.log" || checkRC 'curl'
+            curl --retry 10 -fkSL -o "$partial_target" "$download_source" 2>"${download_target}_download.log" || checkRC 'curl' "download_${tool_name}"
 
             # Move the partial file to the download target.
             mv "$partial_target" "$download_target" || checkRC 'mv'
@@ -205,11 +211,11 @@ else
         ARCH="linux-arm64-musl"
 
         if [[ "$INCLUDE_NODE10" == "true" ]]; then
-            acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE10_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node10/bin fix_nested_dir
+            acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE10_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node10/bin fix_nested_dir false node_alpine_arm64
         fi
 
-        acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE16_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node16/bin fix_nested_dir
-        acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE20_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node20_1/bin fix_nested_dir
+        acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE16_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node16/bin fix_nested_dir false node_alpine_arm64
+        acquireExternalTool "${CONTAINER_URL}/nodejs/${ARCH}/node-v${NODE20_VERSION}-${ARCH}.tar.gz" node20_1/bin fix_nested_dir false node_alpine_arm64
     else
         case $PACKAGERUNTIME in
             "linux-musl-x64") ARCH="linux-x64-musl";;