FCC Bans Sales of New Foreign-Manufactured Consumer Wi-Fi Routers Starting March 2026

The Federal Communications Commission banned the sale of new consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers manufactured outside the United States in March 2026, citing national security concerns. The ban addresses risks from malicious actors who have exploited security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households, disrupt networks, enable espionage, and facilitate intellectual property theft.

Foreign-made routers were involved in the Volt cyberattack targeting vital US infrastructure, the Flax cyberattack targeting vital US infrastructure, and the Salt Typhoon cyberattack targeting vital US infrastructure, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Foreign-made consumer routers were added to the Covered List, which details equipment and services deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, the Federal Communications Commission stated. The ban only affects the sale of new Wi-Fi routers aimed at consumer households and the sale of new mobile Wi-Fi or hotspot devices aimed at consumer households.

The ban does not affect routers already in American homes, routers currently on sale in the US, existing FCC-approved routers on sale in the US, or previously purchased routers already in use in homes across the country.

It also does not apply to phones with hotspot features. All new routers aimed at the consumer market require FCC approval, and any new router manufactured outside the US requires FCC approval before it can be imported, marketed, or sold in the US. This includes routers from US companies manufactured overseas.

Manufacturers can apply for exemptions from the ban, and some manufacturers have been approved for exemptions. Netgear has been granted Conditional Approval until October 1, 2027, Adtran has been granted Conditional Approval until October 1, 2027, and Eero has been granted Conditional Approval until October 31, 2027, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Previously purchased routers can continue to be sold until March 1, 2027, can continue to be used until March 1, 2027, and can continue to be updated with new firmware until March 1, 2027.

All routers authorized for use in the United States may continue to receive software and firmware updates until March 1, 2027, the Federal Communications Commission stated. The article was updated in May 2026 to include information on software and component updates, to include that mobile hotspots are included in the ban, and to include that Conditional Approval has been granted to a few companies, according to Wired.

“This ban is a step to harden the cybersecurity readiness of US households given ongoing geopolitical tensions,” said Bogdan Botezatu, director of Threat Research at Bitdefender.

TP-Link’s US consumer router market share is around 35 percent. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton sued TP-Link in February 2026.

TP-Link is headquartered in the US and manufactures the bulk of its products in Vietnam. TP-Link’s cofounder and CEO Jeffrey Chao applied for permanent US residency through President Trump’s Gold Card program, according to the Times of India. TP-Link is a privately owned company and is not publicly listed on any stock exchange.

Jeffrey Chao and his wife Hillary are listed as the sole owners of TP-Link. Some Starlink Wi-Fi routers are manufactured in Texas. Starlink is part of Elon Musk's SpaceX company.