diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8919caf383..30cf918fc0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1975,7 +1975,7 @@ The following extractors use this feature:
 * `backend`: Backend API to use for extraction - one of `streaks` (default) or `brightcove` (deprecated)
 
 #### vimeo
-* `client`: Client to extract video data from. The currently available clients are `android` and `web`. Only one client can be used. The `web` client is used by default, and only works with account cookies or login credentials. The `android` client only works with previously cached OAuth tokens
+* `client`: Client to extract video data from. The currently available clients are `android`, `macos_basic`, and `web`. Only one client can be used. The `macos_basic` client is used by default, but the `web` client is used when logged-in. The `web` client only works with account cookies or login credentials. The `android` client only works with previously cached OAuth tokens
 * `original_format_policy`: Policy for when to try extracting original formats. One of `always`, `never`, or `auto`. The default `auto` policy tries to avoid exceeding the web client's API rate-limit by only making an extra request when Vimeo publicizes the video's downloadability
 
 #### zan
diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/vimeo.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/vimeo.py
index 4d6dff54d5..ec70a2daea 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/vimeo.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/vimeo.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class VimeoBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
         'Cannot download embed-only video without embedding URL. Please call yt-dlp '
         'with the URL of the page that embeds this video.')
 
-    _DEFAULT_CLIENT = 'web'
+    _DEFAULT_CLIENT = 'macos_basic'
     _DEFAULT_AUTHED_CLIENT = 'web'
     _CLIENT_HEADERS = {
         'Accept': 'application/vnd.vimeo.*+json; version=3.4.10',
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ class VimeoBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
         'android': {
             'CACHE_KEY': 'oauth-token-android',
             'CACHE_ONLY': True,
-            'VIEWER_JWT': False,
             'REQUIRES_AUTH': False,
             'AUTH': 'NzRmYTg5YjgxMWExY2JiNzUwZDg1MjhkMTYzZjQ4YWYyOGEyZGJlMTp4OGx2NFd3QnNvY1lkamI2UVZsdjdDYlNwSDUrdm50YzdNNThvWDcwN1JrenJGZC9tR1lReUNlRjRSVklZeWhYZVpRS0tBcU9YYzRoTGY2Z1dlVkJFYkdJc0dMRHpoZWFZbU0reDRqZ1dkZ1diZmdIdGUrNUM5RVBySlM0VG1qcw==',
             'USER_AGENT': 'com.vimeo.android.videoapp (OnePlus, ONEPLUS A6003, OnePlus, Android 14/34 Version 11.8.1) Kotlin VimeoNetworking/3.12.0',
@@ -71,9 +70,21 @@ class VimeoBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
                 'resource_key', 'badge', 'upload', 'transcode', 'is_playable', 'has_audio',
             ),
         },
+        'macos_basic': {
+            'CACHE_ONLY': False,
+            'REQUIRES_AUTH': False,
+            'AUTH': 'NDc1N2JlN2Y5ZjZmMjU3NzE3NTRkZTg1NmY2YzU2MTI0OTFlNjJiYjpwVUNDWUlBZmZqSHhQcndBYWxGMzgyYys2NkN5d1JrREJZZXdPcEdsU05tdjFlVVo2aE1lYk9GcWE3ZW9KVldlYnFlOWh5Vno5UWtpUGJ5empYZFBpYkFwV0FFTnB5VWV4ZEh3aHZnRUNEL0VySnBzTmFraDdNbS9nMXhWanhIcw==',
+            'USER_AGENT': 'Vimeo/1.6.3 (com.vimeo.mac; build:251121.142637.0; macOS 13.7.8) Alamofire/5.9.0 VimeoNetworking/5.0.0',
+            'VIDEOS_FIELDS': (
+                'uri', 'name', 'description', 'type', 'link', 'player_embed_url', 'duration', 'width',
+                'language', 'height', 'embed', 'created_time', 'modified_time', 'release_time', 'content_rating',
+                'content_rating_class', 'rating_mod_locked', 'license', 'privacy', 'pictures', 'tags', 'stats',
+                'categories', 'uploader', 'metadata', 'user', 'files', 'download', 'app', 'play', 'status',
+                'resource_key', 'badge', 'upload', 'transcode', 'is_playable', 'has_audio',
+            ),
+        },
         'web': {
             'CACHE_ONLY': False,
-            'VIEWER_JWT': True,
             'REQUIRES_AUTH': True,
             'USER_AGENT': None,
             'VIDEOS_FIELDS': (
@@ -151,7 +162,8 @@ class VimeoBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
         if self._LOGIN_REQUIRED:
             self.raise_login_required()
 
-        if self._DEFAULT_CLIENT != 'web':
+        # Don't auto-load token from cache if the user has specified a client
+        if self._configuration_arg('client', [None], ie_key=VimeoIE)[0]:
             return
 
         for client_name, client_config in self._CLIENT_CONFIGS.items():
@@ -336,11 +348,14 @@ class VimeoBaseInfoExtractor(InfoExtractor):
         }
 
     def _fetch_oauth_token(self, client):
-        client_config = self._CLIENT_CONFIGS[client]
-
-        if client_config['VIEWER_JWT']:
+        base_client, _, variant = client.partition('_')
+        if base_client == 'web':
             return f'jwt {self._fetch_viewer_info()["jwt"]}'
 
+        client_config = self._CLIENT_CONFIGS[client]
+        if variant == 'basic':
+            return f'Basic {client_config["AUTH"]}'
+
         cache_key = client_config['CACHE_KEY']
 
         if not self._oauth_tokens.get(cache_key):
@@ -1182,6 +1197,9 @@ class VimeoIE(VimeoBaseInfoExtractor):
                         'If your IP address is located in Europe you could try using a VPN/proxy,',
                         f'or else u{self._login_hint()[1:]}',
                         delim=' '), method=None)
+                # XXX: Temporary while macos_basic is the default client
+                elif e.cause.status == 401 and self._get_requested_client() == 'macos_basic':
+                    self.raise_login_required('The Vimeo extractor only works when logged-in')
                 else:
                     raise
 
@@ -1190,6 +1208,10 @@ class VimeoIE(VimeoBaseInfoExtractor):
         else:
             info = self._parse_api_response(video, video_id, unlisted_hash)
 
+        # XXX: Temporary while macos_basic is the default client
+        if not info.get('formats') and self._get_requested_client() == 'macos_basic':
+            self.raise_login_required('The Vimeo extractor only works when logged-in')
+
         source_format = self._extract_original_format(
             f'https://vimeo.com/{video_id}', video_id, unlisted_hash)
         if source_format: