LoopbackB.setConsole() InternalError in TCP connection (Espruino WiFI)

In a TCP connection with console piping, LoopbackB.setconsole() throws an error:
Uncaught InternalError: setDeviceClockCmd: Unknown Device 720 at line 1 col 101
If the error is caught (the lines are commented out in the code below) LoopbackB.setconsole() does what it's expected to do.
The code is:

net.createServer(function(conn) {
    conn.on('close', USB.setConsole);
    conn.pipe(LoopbackA);
    LoopbackA.pipe(conn);
    // try {
        LoopbackB.setConsole();  // setDeviceClockCmd: Unknown Device 720
    // } catch(e) {};
}).listen(23);

The device is Espruino WiFI on 1.99.