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I'm struggling at the moment with reversing the commands between a Wi-Fi Plug ( Amazon-Link for Wi-Fi Plug) and the associated phone app. It looks like the app controls the plug via a IPDC (IP device control) packet. This protocol seems to be used for VoIP and telephone networks. Did somebody ever came across this protocol on IoT Smart Home devices?

.28 is Phone and .78 is WiFi Plug

In the screenshot .28 is the phone and .78 is the Wi-Fi plug.

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  • Btw. this is not the only device... just encountered this SmartHome-Outlet that is also using IPDC. Jan 3, 2021 at 19:15

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That's a very strange protocol combination for a smart plug to use. SS7 and IPDC are—as you already point out yourself—protocols for VoIP communication. I can't say that I've come across those two in particular in the IoT environment. There might be one reasoning behind that however. Do keep in mind that the following is just a guess one that makes certain sense. But I can't offer any proof for this.

Since smart plugs don't care about any of the usual low power considerations of IoT protocols since they are mains powered they might choose their protocols for other reasons. One reason that seems to be likely when VoIP protocols are used (besides arbitrary picking by the developer because (s)he knows it) is quality of service. Almost any router will prioritize via QoS VoIP packages. That reduces latency and increases reliability for the application on top. Maybe they tried to game that system with the plug.

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    I did some research the last days to find a proper reason for this protocol in this context but I wasn't able to find any. I really like your explanation for this. Dec 7, 2017 at 20:51

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