diff --git a/app/src/main/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/protocol/ProximityPairing.kt b/app/src/main/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/protocol/ProximityPairing.kt
index a8a9b591..8f9ecf82 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/protocol/ProximityPairing.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/protocol/ProximityPairing.kt
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.protocol
 
 import android.bluetooth.le.ScanFilter
 import dagger.Reusable
+import eu.darken.capod.common.debug.logging.Logging.Priority.DEBUG
 import eu.darken.capod.common.debug.logging.log
+import eu.darken.capod.common.debug.logging.logTag
 import javax.inject.Inject
 
 
@@ -16,6 +18,17 @@ object ProximityPairing {
                 return null
             }
 
+            // Pods also emit type 0x07 frames whose payload does not use the plaintext status
+            // format, e.g. prefix 0x07 from the identity address on connect (#603). Their bytes
+            // are garbage at the standard offsets and would create a ghost device.
+            if (message.data.firstOrNull() != PAIRING_MESSAGE_PREFIX) {
+                log(TAG, DEBUG) {
+                    val hex = message.data.joinToString(" ") { "%02X".format(it.toInt()) }
+                    "Dropping proximity pairing message with unsupported prefix: [$hex]"
+                }
+                return null
+            }
+
             return ProximityMessage(
                 type = message.type,
                 length = message.length,
@@ -49,4 +62,9 @@ object ProximityPairing {
 
     // This is the default message length among official Apple devices, clones may have different length
     internal const val PAIRING_MESSAGE_LENGTH = 25
+
+    // First payload byte of every known plaintext status broadcast, including pairing mode
+    internal val PAIRING_MESSAGE_PREFIX = 0x01.toUByte()
+
+    private val TAG = logTag("Pod", "Apple", "ProximityPairing")
 }
diff --git a/app/src/test/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/devices/airpods/AirPodsGen4Test.kt b/app/src/test/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/devices/airpods/AirPodsGen4Test.kt
index acd25181..9968b7ea 100644
--- a/app/src/test/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/devices/airpods/AirPodsGen4Test.kt
+++ b/app/src/test/java/eu/darken/capod/pods/core/apple/ble/devices/airpods/AirPodsGen4Test.kt
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.devices.airpods
 
 import eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.PodModel
+import eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.BlePodSnapshot
 import eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.devices.BaseBlePodsTest
 import eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.devices.DualApplePods
 import eu.darken.capod.pods.core.apple.ble.devices.HasAppleColor
@@ -43,4 +44,14 @@ class AirPodsGen4Test : BaseBlePodsTest() {
             model shouldBe PodModel.AIRPODS_GEN4
         }
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+
+    @Test
+    fun `frame with unsupported payload prefix is rejected - #603`() = runTest {
+        // Captured from AirPods Gen4 on connect: sent from the identity address, payload prefix
+        // 0x07 instead of 0x01, model bytes match but battery/color bytes are not plaintext.
+        // Decoding it as a status frame created a duplicate device card.
+        create<BlePodSnapshot?>("07 19 07 19 20 35 DF DE 46 76 CE 66 5C F4 6E BA B6 AC 1B 69 4C A7 D8 09 BF 9A 04") {
+            this shouldBe null
+        }
+    }
+}