diff --git a/miio/protocol.py b/miio/protocol.py
index bddb40b20..0a7a0158d 100644
--- a/miio/protocol.py
+++ b/miio/protocol.py
@@ -161,11 +161,9 @@ def _encode(self, obj, context, path):
 
     def _decode(self, obj, context, path) -> Union[Dict, bytes]:
         """Decrypts the payload using the token stored in the context."""
-        # if there is no payload, decode to 0 bytes. Missing payload is expected for discovery messages.
-        # note that we don't have "token" in the context for discovery replies so we couldn't decode it
-        # anyway.
-        if obj == b"":
-            return b""
+        # Missing payload is expected for discovery messages.
+        if not obj:
+            return obj
         try:
             decrypted = Utils.decrypt(obj, context["_"]["token"])
             decrypted = decrypted.rstrip(b"\x00")