Winterm v90 to Catalyst, no network connection

Winterm v90 to Catalyst, no network connection

I recently acquired some v90 terminals.
However I cannot get them connected to the network if connected directly to a Catalyst switch.
No matter what speed or duplex on the Cat, the port remains down.
On boot, the terminal says media test failed, XPe says "Network cable unplugged". It's like the cable was really unplugged (tried different cables and switchports).
If I put a simple desktop switch in between the TC and the Cat, everything works fine.
Worth mentioning that connecting other things like workstations to the same ports on the Cat works.
Anyone seen this behavior before? Is there a solution (besides having some other switch in between)?