diff --git a/meshtastic/mesh_interface.py b/meshtastic/mesh_interface.py
index 4c90969..5e55a0c 100644
--- a/meshtastic/mesh_interface.py
+++ b/meshtastic/mesh_interface.py
@@ -470,9 +470,13 @@ class MeshInterface:  # pylint: disable=R0902
         """
 
         # issue 464: allow for 0x prefix in destinationId for hex values
-        if type(destinationId) == str:
-            destinationId = destinationId.replace('0x', '!')
-        logging.debug(f'destinationId: {destinationId}')
+        # destination ids can either be integers or strings with a !prefix
+        try:
+            int(destinationId)
+        except ValueError:
+            # only take the last 8 characters of the destinationId and force a ! prefix
+            destinationId = f'!{destinationId[-8:]}'
+        logging.info(f"Formatted destinationId: {destinationId}")
 
         if getattr(data, "SerializeToString", None):
             logging.debug(f"Serializing protobuf as data: {stripnl(data)}")