Internet of Things (IoT) devices are proliferating rapidly, providing automated services related to security cameras, thermostats, remote control of a home, and other residential uses, as well as industrial control systems, interactive marketing kiosks, and the like. Yet even as the technology in these IoT devices continues to advance, the process for initiating control of these IoT devices out of the box (OOB)—often requiring manual user input and facilitation—has remained largely unchanged. Users are generally required to push one or more buttons on the IoT device to make the device “discoverable” for pairing, and must search for and download an appropriate application to their personal computer or mobile device, among other tedious steps, in order to on-board the device. Particularly in commercial settings, such as hotels, where a multitude of IoT devices may need to be on-boarded at once, this process may not be viable.