An electronic device includes a connection terminal to connect to an external device via an interface including a first transmission path capable of unidirectional transmission of digital signals and a second transmission path capable of bidirectional transmission of a predetermined message; a detecting unit to detect whether the unidirectional transmission to the external device is possible/impossible; an obtaining unit to obtain an address of the electronic device from the external device if the unidirectional transmission is possible; a storage unit to store the obtained address; a receiving unit to receive the predetermined message from the external device; a determining unit to determine whether a destination of the received message includes the stored address; a responding unit to respond to the received message if the destination includes the address; and a control unit to control the responding unit not to respond to the received message if the unidirectional transmission is impossible.