diff --git a/docs/npu.md b/docs/npu.md
index efe1e3d93..793e57cef 100644
--- a/docs/npu.md
+++ b/docs/npu.md
@@ -1875,6 +1875,13 @@ a stream that was sent after the generation had ended; reasoning that the templa
 decision-only pack. "What ends an answer" and [npu-chat-template.md](npu-chat-template.md) describe the rules
 that came out of them.
 
+**Refused by name at load: the `lfm2` packs.** `LFM2.5-1.2B-NPU2` has all four dense kernel shapes on the box
+and its container loads, but ten of its sixteen layers are gated short convolutions (`model.layers.N.shortconv.*`),
+which the loader reads and the forward does not run. The serve exits at load with `forward init failed:
+model.q4nx has 10 gated short-convolution layer(s) of 16 (the first is model.layers.0.shortconv.*, LFM2's hybrid),
+a layer kind this forward does not implement …`. Before that refusal existed it ran those layers as attention,
+failed its warm-up with a size error that named neither the layer nor the kind, and announced itself ready.
+
 Not established by any row here: that a pack goes through the importer (`npu-pack` still reports these
 containers as recognised, not importable), anything about a vision or audio tower, and any pack whose geometry
 has no kernel set on the box. Of the 57 `*-NPU2` repos with a readable geometry on 2026-11-11, 19 had all four
diff --git a/npu/forward/include/model.h b/npu/forward/include/model.h
index 05ddb7346..eafe4c23b 100644
--- a/npu/forward/include/model.h
+++ b/npu/forward/include/model.h
@@ -158,6 +158,22 @@ static inline int model_tensor_name_alt(const char* name, char* out, size_t cap)
     memcpy(out + tl, rest, rl + 1);
     return 1;
 }
+// How many of the first `n_layers` layers are gated short-convolution layers (LFM2's hybrid: a layer is one iff it
+// carries shortconv.in_proj, see LayerWeights), and, through `first`, the index of the first of them (-1 if none).
+// The loader reads those tensors; whether anything RUNS them is the forward's business, and a forward that does not
+// must refuse the pack by name instead of running a convolution layer as attention (engine#1786: FastFlowLM's
+// LFM2.5-1.2B-NPU2 loaded, failed its warm-up with "MLP dequant : data_size 0 ...", and was announced as ready).
+static inline int model_shortconv_layers(const ModelWeights* mw, int n_layers, int* first) {
+    int count = 0;
+    if (first) *first = -1;
+    if (!mw || !mw->layers) return 0;
+    for (int l = 0; l < n_layers; l++) {
+        if (mw->layers[l].shortconv_in_proj_weight.shape[0] == 0) continue;
+        if (count == 0 && first) *first = l;
+        count++;
+    }
+    return count;
+}
 void model_print_info(ModelWeights* mw);
 int model_find_tensor(const char* name, ModelWeights* mw);
 
diff --git a/npu/forward/src/q4nx_forward.cpp b/npu/forward/src/q4nx_forward.cpp
index a5c56b8f1..4466017fa 100644
--- a/npu/forward/src/q4nx_forward.cpp
+++ b/npu/forward/src/q4nx_forward.cpp
@@ -936,6 +936,22 @@ bool Q4nxNpuForward::init_impl(xrt::device* dev, const char* model_path,
                std::to_string(mw_->config.num_layers) + " layers in model.q4nx";
         return false;
     }
+    // A layer kind nothing here implements is refused BY NAME (the same rule as an unknown layer_types entry below).
+    // LFM2 declares its hybrid through `full_attn_idxs`, not `layer_types`, so that check cannot see it: its ten
+    // gated short-convolution layers carry no self_attn.* tensors, and run as attention they fail in the first
+    // dequant with a size error that names neither the layer nor the kind.
+    {
+        int first_conv = -1;
+        const int n_conv = model_shortconv_layers(mw_, cfg.num_layers, &first_conv);
+        if (n_conv > 0) {
+            err_ = "model.q4nx has " + std::to_string(n_conv) + " gated short-convolution layer(s) of " +
+                   std::to_string(cfg.num_layers) + " (the first is model.layers." + std::to_string(first_conv) +
+                   ".shortconv.*, LFM2's hybrid), a layer kind this forward does not implement (it runs "
+                   "full_attention, sliding-window and linear/GDN layers), so serving it would run those layers as "
+                   "attention; file the kind you need instead of converting it";
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
 
     // forward dims mirror the config the weights were loaded with
     c_.H = cfg.hidden_size;
diff --git a/tests/npu_forward_loader_test.c b/tests/npu_forward_loader_test.c
index fe0b6395e..187dc6751 100644
--- a/tests/npu_forward_loader_test.c
+++ b/tests/npu_forward_loader_test.c
@@ -84,6 +84,37 @@ int main(void) {
             model_free(m);
         }
     }
+    {   /* LFM2's hybrid: a layer with shortconv.in_proj is a convolution layer, and the count names the first */
+        const char* h =
+            "{\"model.layers.0.self_attn.q_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[0,8]},"
+            "\"model.layers.1.shortconv.in_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[8,16]},"
+            "\"model.layers.1.shortconv.conv.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[16,24]},"
+            "\"model.layers.1.shortconv.out_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[24,32]},"
+            "\"model.layers.2.self_attn.q_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[32,40]},"
+            "\"model.layers.3.shortconv.in_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[40,48]},"
+            "\"model.norm.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[48,56]}}";
+        ModelWeights* m = load(write_file("lfm2.q4nx", strlen(h), h, 56));
+        check(m != NULL, "a container with short-convolution layers loads (the loader reads them)");
+        if (m) {
+            int first = -2;
+            check(model_shortconv_layers(m, 4, &first) == 2 && first == 1,
+                  "two of its first four layers are convolution layers, and the first is layer 1");
+            check(model_shortconv_layers(m, 1, &first) == 0 && first == -1, "none among the layers before it");
+            check(model_shortconv_layers(m, 4, NULL) == 2, "the count does not need the index");
+            model_free(m);
+        }
+        const char* plain = "{\"model.layers.0.self_attn.q_proj.weight\":{\"dtype\":\"BF16\",\"shape\":[4],\"data_offsets\":[0,8]}}";
+        ModelWeights* q = load(write_file("dense.q4nx", strlen(plain), plain, 8));
+        if (q) {
+            int first = -2;
+            check(model_shortconv_layers(q, 4, &first) == 0 && first == -1, "an attention-only container has none");
+            model_free(q);
+        } else {
+            check(0, "an attention-only container loads");
+        }
+        int first = -2;
+        check(model_shortconv_layers(NULL, 4, &first) == 0 && first == -1, "no model, none");
+    }
     {   /* shorter than the length prefix */
         char path[128];
         snprintf(path, sizeof path, "%s/short.q4nx", dir);