Dell Firmware Downgrade resulted in "ME Firmware EndUpdate failed Error: 0x00002225"

[M__W1]

I was recommended to try posting this here by Intel Technical Support after receiving an inadequate response from the trouble ticket they submitted on my behalf

I tried to post this in the most relevant (firmware related) developer forum group..

While downgrading (using the official Dell .exe) I got the error:
      "ME Firmware EndUpdate failed Error: 0x00002225"

It seems that Dell BIOS update for the system has 3 phases:

      **Phase 1)**  System Bios  *(completed 0 to 100 just fine)*

      **Phase 2)**  Intel ME Firmware update   <=== **EndUpdate failed Error 0X00002225** (even though it completed 0 to 100% progress bar)

            **Phase 2.a)**  "Sending Intel ME Firmware"  (completed 0-100%)

            **Phase 2.b)**  "Waiting for ME FW Update to complete"  (completed 0-100%, but displayed the error)

      **Phase 3)**  EC Bios   *(completed 0 to 100 just fine)*

Phase **2.a** and **2.b** both took about 20 to 30 seconds --- so "something" was actually being done.

Subsequently, I've read that apparently you can't "downgrade" Intel ME Firmware.

After the error for Phase 2 is displayed, it just automatically moves onto Phase 3.

Because it was an attempted downgrade (and it's apparently not allowed),  does the error simply mean it threw it out at the end and it reverted?  If so, **why couldn't it just compare version numbers and simply skip the step** like it does when trying to over-write the **latest with the latest**  (zero seconds elapse when trying to "refresh" latest with latest)?

I've tried to contact Dell and separately Intel to have a ticket created for an engineer to reflect on the specific error and get a better understanding of what's going on to no avail.

So, now when trying to install the **latest** Dell BIOS .exe again (to ensure I don't have a corrupted downgraded version) Phase 2 is completely omitted as if it recognizes it's still on the latest already.

At all times, the Dell BIOS portions Phase 1 & Phase 3 work just fine.   
At this point I would be satisfied using the latest BIOS and forget about the downgrade entirely.   But when I try flashing with the latest version, Phase 2 is always skipped.

Note:  I'm only using the Dell approved single Dell file .exe which consists of the three phases mentioned above.

Also, the computer boots and *seems* to operate fine.  However, I'm concerned I have a latent issue with a potentially corrupted BIOS.

Does the  **EndUpdate failed 0x00002225** error code mean something specifically?  I've searched everywhere I can online.

At the end of the 3 phases when the downgrade was attempted and I received the error I received a green colored "Update Successful" as if it's not reflecting on the Phase 2 error at all.

Thanks for any advice you may have.