diff --git a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverInstanceActor.cs b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverInstanceActor.cs
index 60e989ce..c1ad189b 100644
--- a/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverInstanceActor.cs
+++ b/src/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime/Drivers/DriverInstanceActor.cs
@@ -1170,7 +1170,7 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActor : ReceiveActor, IWithTimers
                 try { cts.Cancel(); } catch (ObjectDisposedException) { }
                 _ = attempt.ContinueWith(t => _ = t.Exception, TaskContinuationOptions.OnlyOnFaulted);
                 replyTo.Tell(new WriteAttributeResult(false,
-                    $"StatusCode=0x800A0000 (BadTimeout: write did not complete within {writeTimeout.TotalSeconds:F0}s)"));
+                    $"StatusCode=0x800A0000 (BadTimeout: write did not complete within {writeTimeout.TotalMilliseconds:F0} ms)"));
                 return;
             }
             if (results is { Count: 1 } && IsGoodStatus(results[0].StatusCode))
diff --git a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests.cs b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests.cs
index f6f99002..484b2b10 100644
--- a/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Server/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Runtime.Tests/Drivers/DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests.cs
@@ -171,7 +171,12 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
     [Fact]
     public async Task A_hung_token_ignoring_write_is_abandoned_and_releases_its_tag_for_a_later_write()
     {
-        var driver = new SlowWritableDriver { HoldWrites = true, IgnoreCancellation = true };
+        // ONLY the first write wedges (ignoring its token); every later write completes at once. The fixture used
+        // to wedge EVERY write on one shared release gate, so the later write was ALSO token-ignoring and the
+        // 300 ms pessimistic bound abandoned it too while the test was still polling/asserting before
+        // ReleaseWrites() — its reason was "write did not complete within" (the bound), not "queued for" (the
+        // queue budget), and it had entered the driver, so the tag HAD been released. Fixture defect, not code.
+        var driver = new SlowWritableDriver { HangFirstWriteIgnoringCancellation = true };
         var (actor, _) = Connect(driver, maxWritesInFlight: 1, writeTimeout: TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(300));
 
         var hung = actor.Ask<DriverInstanceActor.WriteAttributeResult>(
@@ -181,6 +186,7 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
         var hungResult = await hung;
         hungResult.Success.ShouldBeFalse();
         hungResult.Reason!.ShouldContain("800A0000", customMessage: "BadTimeout");
+        hungResult.Reason!.ShouldContain("within 300 ms", customMessage: "the abandon reason names the real bound (it used to round 300 ms down to \"0s\")");
         driver.MaxConcurrentWrites.ShouldBe(1);
 
         // The tag (and the single slot) are free again: a later tag-a write reaches the device even though the
@@ -189,10 +195,10 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
             new DriverInstanceActor.WriteAttribute("tag-a", 2), PresenceBudget);
         AwaitCondition(() => driver.WritesEntered == 2, PresenceBudget);
         driver.EnteredRefs.ShouldBe(new[] { "tag-a", "tag-a" });
+        var laterResult = await later;
+        laterResult.Success.ShouldBeTrue(laterResult.Reason);
         driver.MaxConcurrentWrites.ShouldBe(2, "positive control: the abandoned write really is still wedged inside the driver");
-
-        driver.ReleaseWrites();
-        (await later).Success.ShouldBeTrue();
+        driver.Writes.Select(w => w.Value).ShouldBe(new object[] { 2 }, "only the later write reached the device's commit");
     }
 
     [Fact]
@@ -233,8 +239,10 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
 
         public TimeSpan Latency { get; init; }
         public bool HoldWrites { get; init; }
-        /// <summary>When true a held write ignores its cancellation token — a wedged driver.</summary>
-        public bool IgnoreCancellation { get; init; }
+        /// <summary>When true the FIRST write never completes and ignores its cancellation token — a wedged
+        /// driver; every later write takes the normal path.</summary>
+        public bool HangFirstWriteIgnoringCancellation { get; init; }
+        private readonly TaskCompletionSource _never = new(TaskCreationOptions.RunContinuationsAsynchronously);
 
         public IReadOnlyList<WriteRequest> Writes => _writes.ToArray();
         public IReadOnlyList<string> EnteredRefs => _enteredRefs.ToArray();
@@ -253,7 +261,7 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
 
         public async Task<IReadOnlyList<WriteResult>> WriteAsync(IReadOnlyList<WriteRequest> writes, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
         {
-            Interlocked.Increment(ref _entered);
+            var seq = Interlocked.Increment(ref _entered);
             foreach (var w in writes) _enteredRefs.Enqueue(w.FullReference);
             var inside = Interlocked.Increment(ref _inside);
             int seen;
@@ -261,7 +269,7 @@ public sealed class DriverInstanceActorConcurrentWriteTests : RuntimeActorTestBa
                 Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _maxInside, inside, seen);
             try
             {
-                if (HoldWrites && IgnoreCancellation) await _release.Task;
+                if (HangFirstWriteIgnoringCancellation && seq == 1) await _never.Task;
                 else if (HoldWrites) await _release.Task.WaitAsync(cancellationToken);
                 else if (Latency > TimeSpan.Zero) await Task.Delay(Latency, cancellationToken);
                 foreach (var w in writes) _writes.Enqueue(w);