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

An engineer discovered his iLife A11 smart vacuum was sending data to the manufacturer without consent, leading him to block telemetry servers and trigger a remote kill command that disabled the device. Despite attempts to revive it at the service center, the vacuum would fail again once connected to the blocked network. By disassembling the vacuum, creating custom hardware, and using Python scripts, the engineer managed to bypass the kill command and run the device offline, regaining control over his data. His experience highlights potential security risks with smart devices and the importance of maintaining control over personal data.