FCC Router Ban: Affected Brands and What It Means for Your Home Network

The Federal Communications Commission announced on March 23, 2026, a ban on the sale of new Wi-Fi routers manufactured outside the United States, citing unacceptable risks to national security.

The order targets any new router models produced in foreign countries. According to FCC guidelines, a device is classified as foreign-made if any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design and development takes place outside the U.S.

Market Impact and Affected Vendors

The ban is expected to significantly disrupt the domestic Wi-Fi router market, as a vast majority of available hardware is produced abroad. An estimated 60% of routers in the United States are manufactured in China.

Major brands including Netgear, Asus, and TP-Link produce routers at least partially outside the U.S. TP-Link has stated that virtually all routers are made outside the United States.

Newer Starlink routers are among the few exceptions mentioned as being produced domestically. While manufacturers are permitted to apply for exemptions, the FCC website indicates that no vendors have been granted Conditional Approval as of the current reporting.

National Security Justifications

The FCC linked the decision to several high-profile cyberattacks, specifically naming the Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon operations. The agency stated that routers produced abroad were directly implicated in these events.

The Salt Typhoon attack specifically targeted Cisco routers to infiltrate the networks of major U.S. Internet service providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, the parent company of Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink.

Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will continue do our part in making sure that US cyberspace, critical infrastructure and supply chains are safe and secure

FCC Chair Brendan Carr

Guidelines for Consumers and Retailers

The ban applies only to new models and does not affect routers that have already received FCC authorization. On March 24, 2026, the FCC clarified that the action does not impact a consumer’s continued use of routers they previously acquired and does not prevent retailers from continuing to sell or import models previously approved through the equipment authorization process.

However, the long-term viability of existing foreign-made hardware may be limited. The FCC issued a waiver allowing these devices to receive software updates, but this permission expires on March 1, 2027.

Industry and Privacy Perspectives

Some security experts have questioned the efficacy of a total ban. Thorin Klosowski, a privacy and security activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, suggested that security vulnerabilities often persist because manufacturers fail to issue patches or notify users when a device reaches end-of-life status.

Klosowski argued that banning the purchase of new foreign routers does not address the security problems presented by the devices already in use within American households.