diff --git a/doc/changelog.d/2226.added.md b/doc/changelog.d/2226.added.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c7624826b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/changelog.d/2226.added.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+For 261 dotnet 8 is included in core service
diff --git a/src/ansys/geometry/core/connection/product_instance.py b/src/ansys/geometry/core/connection/product_instance.py
index 74d4f12cdc..99c0e90a84 100644
--- a/src/ansys/geometry/core/connection/product_instance.py
+++ b/src/ansys/geometry/core/connection/product_instance.py
@@ -465,29 +465,42 @@ def prepare_and_start_backend(
             # Verify dotnet is installed
             import shutil
 
-            if not shutil.which("dotnet"):
-                raise RuntimeError(
-                    "Cannot find 'dotnet' command. "
-                    "Please install 'dotnet' to use the Ansys Geometry Core Service. "
-                    "At least dotnet 8.0 is required."
+            if not any(
+                CORE_GEOMETRY_SERVICE_EXE.replace(".exe", "") in file.name
+                for file in Path(root_service_folder).iterdir()
+            ):
+                if not shutil.which("dotnet"):
+                    raise RuntimeError(
+                        "Cannot find 'dotnet' command. "
+                        "Please install 'dotnet' to use the Ansys Geometry Core Service. "
+                        "At least dotnet 8.0 is required."
+                    )
+                # At least dotnet 8.0 is required
+                # private method and controlled input by library - excluding bandit check.
+                if (
+                    subprocess.check_output(["dotnet", "--version"]).decode("utf-8").split(".")[0]  # nosec B607, B603
+                    < "8"
+                ):
+                    raise RuntimeError(
+                        "Ansys Geometry Core Service requires at least dotnet 8.0. "
+                        "Please install a compatible version."
+                    )
+                # For Linux, we need to use the dotnet command to launch the Core Geometry Service
+                args.append("dotnet")
+                args.append(
+                    Path(
+                        root_service_folder,
+                        CORE_GEOMETRY_SERVICE_EXE.replace(".exe", ".dll"),
+                    )
                 )
-
-            # At least dotnet 8.0 is required
-            # private method and controlled input by library - excluding bandit check.
-            if subprocess.check_output(["dotnet", "--version"]).decode("utf-8").split(".")[0] < "8":  # nosec B607, B603
-                raise RuntimeError(
-                    "Ansys Geometry Core Service requires at least dotnet 8.0. "
-                    "Please install a compatible version."
-                )
-
-            # For Linux, we need to use the dotnet command to launch the Core Geometry Service
-            args.append("dotnet")
-            args.append(
-                Path(
-                    root_service_folder,
-                    CORE_GEOMETRY_SERVICE_EXE.replace(".exe", ".dll"),
+            else:
+                # For Linux, we need to use the exe file to launch the Core Geometry Service
+                args.append(
+                    Path(
+                        root_service_folder,
+                        CORE_GEOMETRY_SERVICE_EXE.replace(".exe", ""),
+                    )
                 )
-            )
     else:
         raise RuntimeError(
             f"Cannot connect to backend {backend_type.name} using ``prepare_and_start_backend()``"