Intel Firmware Update Will Break P3600

[brew]

Reposting since my previous post was closed without a resolution and their support is refusing to assist me. 

I recently picked up some second hand P3600 2.5 U.2 NVMe drives. When they came, they had an LBA format of 3 (4096 sector size). I need them to be 512 so I've tried multiple times using Intel MAS, Intel DCT, NVME-CLI, and VMware's NVMe tools via esxcli. On every single drive, I get the following:

NVMe-CLI: Internal Error (0x6)

Intel MAS/DCT - Various messages about failing

VMware - "Format fails or timeout, 0xbad0001. Offline namespace."

I've tried changing the sector size using the intel mas set command. No luck. I've tried a secure erase...fails. All four drives have this issue...so I'm assuming it's the firmware. SMART shows up fine. It passes Intel's diagnostics. The drive performs well when formatted with 4096...but will not let me use 512. I've also confirmed that devices I bought brand new and have not had problems with ever are also impacted by this. I'm posting here because I have some devices under warranty and others that are not. Intel will hopefully honor their warranty for the ones that still have it but I still have ones not covered that I need help with if anyone has a suggestion or an idea. So far Intel has not been helpful and have gone out of their way to make this more frustrating and difficult despite the fact that their firmware update essentially stripped key functionality from these devices. Any help would be appreciated. I believe others will experience the same issue as well once they update their firmware. 

[BrusC_Intel]

Hello, @brew.

Thank you for contacting Intel Community Support.

Your first thread was closed because you were already being assisted by one of my colleagues in a ticket opened via the support portal, and then this second thread was opened while the other is still active, if you require further assistance, please continue over the initial ticket by replying to the agent's e-mail to reopen it since it has been determined that the best option is to replace the units, but they could not be replaced due to warranty policy requirements.

The thread will remain open in case other users would like to offer their input, but it will no longer be monitored for support as it is already being provided in via web/e-mail.

Best regards,

Bruce C.

Intel Customer Support Technician