I already removed everything else from the switch.
So pc -> switch -> 271
Nothing else.

Meridian 271 Hardware Revision 0.3
Current firmware: Build 1001249 (display version 1.1)
Device Manager v64 and v65 both detect update Build 1001271 and 272.
When Update is selected, Device Manager remains indefinitely at "Preparing Device for Update".
The unit does not reboot into update mode. The web interface remains continuously accessible and ICMP ping is uninterrupted. Wireshark shows only the normal multicast advertisements and no firmware transfer is initiated.
Could this early hardware revision require a special recovery updater or intermediate firmware?