Fable 5 shows "currently unavailable" in /model picker despite "Fable 5 is back" banner (Claude Max, v2.1.196)

Summary

The /model picker greys out Fable 5 as "Claude Fable 5 is currently unavailable" while the session startup banner simultaneously says "Fable 5 is back." These two states contradict each other, and there appears to be no way to select Fable 5 from the client.

Environment

• Claude Code version: 2.1.196 (running session; claude update has fetched 2.1.198 for next launch)
• Plan: Claude Max
• OS: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
• Date/time observed: 2026-07-02 19:32 EDT
• Session: Fresh session (restarting / new session does NOT clear it — availability is fetched fresh and still shows unavailable)

What I see

Startup banner:

Fable 5 is back. Until July 7, you can use up to 50% of your plan's weekly usage limit on Fable 5. If you hit your limit, you can continue on Fable 5 with usage credits. Fable 5 draws down usage faster than Opus 4.8.

/model picker:

6. Fable (disabled) — Claude Fable 5 is currently unavailable. Learn more: https://www.anthropic.com/news/fable-mythos-access

Steps to reproduce

1. Start a new Claude Code session on a Claude Max plan (v2.1.196).
2. Observe the "Fable 5 is back" banner at the top of the session.
3. Run /model.
4. Fable 5 (option 6) is listed but disabled with "currently unavailable."

Expected

Given the banner explicitly grants Fable 5 usage until July 7, Fable 5 should be selectable in the /model picker for this account.

Actual

Fable 5 is permanently disabled in the picker. Ruled out on the client side:

• Not CLI version — 2.1.196 is well past v2.1.170 (the release that added Fable 5).
• Not plan tier — account is Claude Max.
• Not a stale client flag — a brand-new session still shows it unavailable.
• Not the advisor — no advisor conflict; disabling makes no difference.

This looks like the account-level "Fable is back" announcement flag has flipped on while the actual model-serving capacity / availability flag for this account (or Claude Code specifically) has not, following the July 1 global redeployment.

Impact / urgency

The banner limits the Fable 5 promotional window to July 7. If the availability flag doesn't propagate before then, this account never gets to use the allotted Fable 5 usage it was told it has.

Question

Is this a Claude-Code-specific capacity-flag lag, or an account-wide rollout gap? If a manual account flag flip is needed to match the banner, please advise.