# Model selection not being honored **URL:** \ **Category:** Bugs\ **Tags:** chatgpt\ **Created:** [December 12, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155 "2025-12-12T22:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/1 "2025-12-12T22:25:09Z")
In ChatGPT (web), I explicitly select “ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking” and enable “Extended Thinking”. I do this specifically to avoid any auto-routing to the Instant model. Despite that, certain prompts appear to be handled by the Instant model anyway, as if “Auto” were selected. This is most reproducible with translation, grammar fixes, and style rewrites. It also happens intermittently when asking the assistant to explain something referenced earlier in the same conversation. ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 11:57am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/2 "2025-12-13T11:57:05Z")
Can confirm this used to happen with 5.1 thinking. And it’s happening again with 5.2. The quality of answers is degraded noticeably when it assumes thinking is not needed. If this “bug” is not fixed, might have no choice but to cancel subscription and move to better competitors. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/3 "2025-12-14T00:12:33Z")
Did you notice this with 5.1 Thinking right after it launched? If so, did it go away after a while? If it did, maybe it’s just an early-release quirk. ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 9:40am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/4 "2025-12-15T09:40:54Z")
Yes it did go away. This may be temporary, but the lack of transparency about such a thing is concerning. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/5 "2025-12-18T17:17:28Z")
It stil hasn’t gone away. I think it’s permament and intended. ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 1:24pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/6 "2025-12-23T13:24:43Z")
Yes probably permanent. I’d also wager they moved the correct behavior under the guise of “Heavy-thinking“ to the Pro plan. So, it’s another thing behind the paywall. ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 1:16pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/7 "2025-12-30T13:16:43Z")
You still see it? This 5.2 model has been a disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Cruz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/cruz/32/712566_2.png) [@Cruz](https://community.openai.com/u/Cruz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/8 "2025-12-31T18:41:49Z")
2026 is about to start, and this has still not been addressed. I’m starting to think it’s intentional. As fabiondo said, since 5.2 Thinking came out, I noticed some responses answering instantly, without the “thought for a couple of seconds” that used to appear in 5.1 Thinking. I thought it was just a UI change, but it seems it’s not. I have a GPT (those apps you can create) meant to transcribe from Japanese to roumaji in a specific way, and I have always used it with the thinking model because the instant one always made mistakes following the instructions. Since 5.2 Thinking came out, the model went from thinking for 4-16 seconds to less than 7 seconds, sometimes responding in an instant, and making the exact same mistakes Instant makes. When I tell it it made a mistake, then it reasons for around 10 seconds and delivers an actually good response. Then if I ask for another thing in the same chat, it once again responds in an instant and makes mistakes. We need some transparency about this. I get that OpenAI is burning money with each account, but I’d prefer them to reduce the amount of weekly thinking uses from 3000 to 250 again (like it was in the 4o days) and letting us actually use the thinking mode when we select it. Or just remove thinking mode and instant mode and being truthful about what they are selling us, 5.2 Auto. And this change came just it time to be around the holidays, when most people won’t notice. I’m also concerned about token windows. Plus accounts get 32k context windows with Instant and 198k with Thinking. Does this routing mess with that? We’ll likely never know. I hope more people discuss this on reddit and youtube. It’s the only way for them to actually acknowledge what’s going on, by calling them out. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/9 "2026-01-03T02:06:13Z")
The most infuriating part is the sneakiness in the way they’re doing it. They aren’t communicating it, and they’re hoping most people won’t notice. It also has an air of, ‘We know better than you, the user.’ That said, I’ve found an effective way to make it always use Thinking. Attach this to the end of the prompt: (Before you give the final output, do a deliberate internal pass, then do a brief “process summary describing what you checked or considered (no hidden reasoning, just a checklist-style summary). Do not include your process summary on the answer, it’s internal. Then give the final answer.) ---
**Author:** ![wqvent](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/wqvent/32/716638_2.png) [@wqvent](https://community.openai.com/u/wqvent)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/10 "2026-01-18T17:49:44Z")
I want to know whether this issue can actually be resolved. I have already contacted OpenAI support by email, but the only response I received was that I should wait. They didn’t provide any real solution or troubleshooting steps — it felt like a dismissive, copy-paste reply. In my view, since I paid for this product, I have the right to receive the benefits and performance that come with the subscription. I should not be treated like an idiot, nor should I be blatantly misled into paying for something while the service fails to deliver what I’m entitled to. ---
**Author:** ![Bodvud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Bodvud](https://community.openai.com/u/Bodvud)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/11 "2026-01-21T03:30:55Z")
Started seeing the same today. Either it’s a new feature they are rolling out, or there is some silent quota being used - after which you are redirected to the "auto” mode ---
**Author:** ![louis-co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@louis-co](https://community.openai.com/u/louis-co)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/12 "2026-01-21T15:52:39Z")
Experiencing the same Issue on the Business Plan. Messaged support but no real solution. Time to move off chatgpt and use the model in another chat interface via API. I doubt they will fix this issue anytime soon. So dissapointing to see how they enshittified even the 30$/ mo plan. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/13 "2026-01-27T02:32:37Z")
The prompt I shared that forces chatgpt to think has been banned by OpenAI. ![IMG_3540](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/original/4X/d/4/7/d471ed681a21d4fd587e3966a3043af6a9979a8f.jpeg) What the h\*ll OpenAI? Seriously considering switching to Gemini. ---
**Author:** ![Zhiqiao\_Dong](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/zhiqiao_dong/32/513475_2.png) [@Zhiqiao\_Dong](https://community.openai.com/u/Zhiqiao_Dong)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:00am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/14 "2026-01-29T00:00:24Z")
Same here and have been seeing this from occasionally to frequently that varies depending on prompt length and usage frequency. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/15 "2026-01-29T17:31:47Z")
![IMG_3549](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/original/4X/b/8/7/b872883190f19d61ca46829b117eedada9dcbc16.jpeg) Yes, this is definitely the Thinking model alright. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/16 "2026-02-22T19:17:55Z")
I think it got fixed. Can anyone confirm if it always think for them now? ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/17 "2026-02-25T15:52:26Z")
Hasn’t changed a single bit. ---
**Author:** ![fabiondo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/fabiondo/32/485725_2.png) [@fabiondo](https://community.openai.com/u/fabiondo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/18 "2026-02-26T00:29:55Z")
Wow. I think it genuinely got fixed for about two days. I just tried again, and yeah, the problem is back. ---
**Author:** ![msalehrayani](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/msalehrayani/32/392423_2.png) [@msalehrayani](https://community.openai.com/u/msalehrayani)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/19 "2026-04-23T19:01:24Z")
For what it’s worth, I think it’s fixed now ---
**Author:** ![OpenAI\_Support](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/openai1/user_avatar/community.openai.com/openai_support/32/561845_2.png) [@OpenAI\_Support](https://community.openai.com/u/OpenAI_Support)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155/20 "2026-09-06T22:56:19Z")
Sorry for the slow follow-up, and thanks for the update. Glad it seemed better in your last check. Model options have changed since this report: [https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001354-gpt-56-and-gpt-6-pro-in-chatgpt](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001354-gpt-56-and-gpt-6-pro-in-chatgpt). If it happens again, please share a fresh example with support so the team can review it. [Next page](https://community.openai.com/t/model-selection-not-being-honored/1369155.md?page=2)