FCC Bans Foreign-Made Routers as a ‘National Security Risk’
The Federal Communications Commission has decided to ban foreign-made Wi-Fi routers, according to a fact sheet released Monday afternoon.
The ban affects “all consumer routers produced in foreign countries.” Router makers can apply for an exemption, but so far none have been granted conditional approval on the FCC website.
This is a monumental development for the US Wi-Fi router market. Almost all routers available for purchase in this country are at least partially manufactured outside the US, including TP-Link, Asus and Netgear.
According to a list of FAQs published by the FCC, a router will be considered foreign-made if “a major step in the manufacturing process of the device, including manufacturing, assembly, design, and development” takes place outside the United States. The ban does not apply to existing routers previously authorized by the FCC.
“I welcome this executive branch national security action, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which have been found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the list of products covered by the FCC,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement.
This doesn’t mean you need to replace your existing router. The FCC clarified that this does not apply to routers already purchased, but that you will not be able to purchase new routers that the FCC had not already authorized before today’s ban.
TP-Link has specifically been in the crosshairs of the U.S. government for more than a year, due to its ties to China, with more than half a dozen U.S. departments and agencies. would have supported a ban late 2025. But the FCC’s current action goes far beyond TP-Link and will affect almost every router company.
CNET reached out to the FCC, Asus, D-Link, Eero, Netgear, Razer and TP-Link for comment, but representatives did not immediately respond. We will continue to update this story as we gather more information.
