this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2025
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Manufacturer issues remote kill command to disable smart vacuum after engineer blocks it from collecting data — user revives it with custom hardware and Python scripts to run offline (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 15 hours ago by spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works to c/technology@lemmy.world
62 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

An engineer got curious about how his iLife A11 smart vacuum worked and monitored the network traffic coming from the device. That’s when he noticed it was constantly sending logs and telemetry data to the manufacturer — something he hadn't consented to. The user, Harishankar, decided to block the telemetry servers' IP addresses on his network, while keeping the firmware and OTA servers open. While his smart gadget worked for a while, it just refused to turn on soon after. After a lengthy investigation, he discovered that a remote kill command had been issued to his device.

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[–] nekusoul@lemmy.nekusoul.de 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

What I don't understand is why the person that owns the device wrote the following in their blog post:

How could a simple IP block disable a vacuum cleaner that is supposed to work offline as well? - Source

This seems like that device was sold to him as "offline" capable. Where does that claim even come from? From a cursory glance I don't see that product advertised that way anywhere.

Now, I'd be totally in favor that such devices working offline should be the norm, but then again, the person writing the blog should know how these devices currently work.

[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

Say, if he got it because it was advertised as an offline device then why would he connect it to wifi anyway? The more I read this article, the more questionable this so called "IT specialist" is.

This is how it has been for a long time - robovacs do talk to a server. Should it? Not necessary. But they undeniably do.