UPDATE: the upgrade worked after manually putting the controller into bootloader mode, by powering it off then depressing the stop-play-record buttons in the DAW section and powering on again. MIDI Control Center displays a "device in bootloader mode" dialog and allows manual selection of a previously downloaded firmware file, ending in .led
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I can't update the firmware either. It's stuck at 1.1.6 and I too have tried directly connecting to a USB port not a hub, also using the vendor supplied cable.