diff --git a/resources/lib/variables.py b/resources/lib/variables.py
index 2ccc241d..3cba3bc2 100644
--- a/resources/lib/variables.py
+++ b/resources/lib/variables.py
@@ -69,7 +69,14 @@ elif xbmc.getCondVisibility('system.platform.android'):
 else:
     DEVICE = "Unknown"
 
-MODEL = platform.release() or 'Unknown'
+try:
+    MODEL = platform.release() or 'Unknown'
+except IOError:
+    # E.g. iOS
+    # It seems that Kodi doesn't allow python to spawn subprocesses in order to
+    # determine the system name
+    # See https://github.com/psf/requests/issues/4434
+    MODEL = 'Unknown'
 
 DEVICENAME = try_decode(_ADDON.getSetting('deviceName'))
 if not DEVICENAME: