Since March 23, 2026, a new consumer router made outside the United States can’t get the FCC authorization it needs to go on sale in the US unless it holds a “Conditional Approval” from the Department of War or the Department of Homeland Security. Since then, the FCC has published a string of notices adding approved router lines. The latest, published October 2, 2026, still does not include TP-Link.
The rule is easy to misread in both directions. It does not switch off the router you already own, and it does not pull existing models off store shelves. What it changes is which brands can bring new models to the US, and for how long. Here is what the FCC’s own documents say, as of October 7, 2026.
What the FCC rule actually covers
The FCC added the category to its Covered List in a March 23, 2026 public notice. The entry reads: “Routers produced in a foreign country, except routers which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW or DHS.” Three details in that notice matter for buyers:
- Nationality doesn’t matter, place of production does. The national security determination attached to the notice applies to routers produced abroad “regardless of the nationality of the producer.” An American company that builds its routers abroad is covered too.
- “Produced” is broad. The same determination says production “generally includes any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design, and development.”
- It blocks new authorizations. According to the FCC’s fact sheet, covered equipment is “banned from receiving new equipment authorizations,” and most electronic devices, consumer routers included, need that authorization before they can be imported, marketed or sold in the US.
The same fact sheet spells out what the rule leaves alone: it “does not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing device models the FCC previously authorized,” and “Consumers can continue to use any router they have already lawfully purchased or acquired.”
Which brands have approval, and until when
Router approvals on the FCC’s list come with end dates. The table below covers the consumer brands most US buyers will recognize, with dates taken from the FCC’s October 2, 2026 public notice (Appendix B) and cross-checked against the notice that first announced each approval.
| Maker | Product lines named by the FCC | Approval period |
|---|---|---|
| Netgear | Nighthawk and Orbi consumer mesh, mobile and standalone routers; CAX cable gateways; CM cable modems | April 14, 2026 to October 1, 2027 |
| eero (Amazon) | eero, eero Pro, eero Max, eero PoE, eero Outdoor, eero Signal, and Amazon Leo routers | April 22, 2026 to October 31, 2027 |
| SpaceX | Starlink routers | From July 27, 2026; end date listed as February 1, 2028 in the approval notice and January 17, 2028 in the October 2 table |
| ASUS | RT, ROG GT, ROG Strix GS, TUF Gaming, ExpertWiFi and ZenWiFi Mesh series, 5G MiFi, repeaters and access points | September 9, 2026 to March 6, 2028 |
| TP-Link | Not on the October 2 list | None |
Two notes on that table. First, the FCC’s own documents disagree on Starlink’s end date: the July 27 notice that announced it says the approval terminates February 1, 2028, while the consolidated table in the October 2 notice shows January 17, 2028. We have shown both rather than pick one. Second, the approvals are short. By our count from the FCC’s dates, Netgear’s runs about 17.5 months and ASUS’s about 18.
The router column of the October 2 list goes well beyond retail brands. It also names gateway and equipment makers that supply internet providers, among them Arcadyan (whose listed models include T-Mobile 5G fixed wireless gateways, AT&T’s BGW 720 and several Verizon models), Calix (GigaSpire), Nokia (Beacons and Fastmile gateways), Sagemcom, Hitron, Zyxel, Askey and Humax. If your router came from your internet provider, the maker on the label may be one of these companies rather than the provider itself.
The FCC also says these exemptions come with strings. In the October 2 notice, it states that the approvals announced that day depend on the companies following the onshoring plans in their applications, and that failing to do so “could result in termination of the Conditional Approval and return of the equipment to the FCC’s Covered List.”
If you already own a router
Nothing about the rule stops your router from working. The question owners actually face is about updates, and there are two separate clocks.
The FCC’s clock. Under a rule the FCC adopted in 2025, covered equipment would normally be barred even from the routine “permissive changes” that carry firmware and security updates. The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology waived that for routers authorized before March 23, 2026. The first waiver ran to March 1, 2027. A May 8, 2026 notice extended it: those routers “may at least until January 1, 2029, consistent with FCC rules, continue to receive software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to U.S. consumers.” The FCC also said it would recommend that the full Commission consider codifying the waiver through a rulemaking. The March 1, 2027 date from the first waiver no longer applies.
The maker’s clock. The waiver permits updates. It does not oblige anyone to ship them. Whether your router actually gets patches depends on the manufacturer’s own support policy for that model, as it always has. TP-Link’s statement on its US press page says: “This FCC action does not impact existing routers, which will continue to operate normally with ongoing support and updates.” The same statement says the company “is actively pursuing Conditional Approval for new products.”
If your router’s maker stops supporting the model before January 2029, that end-of-support date is the one that matters, not the FCC’s. Check the model’s support page for a firmware date from this year; if the most recent update is years old, that is a stronger reason to replace it than the FCC rule. Our guide on securing smart home devices covers the router settings worth checking in the meantime.
If you’re buying a router now
| Your situation | What the FCC documents mean for it |
|---|---|
| Buying a model that was FCC-authorized before March 23, 2026 (for example, one already on store shelves then), from any brand | Still legal to sell and use; the fact sheet says previously authorized models are not affected |
| Waiting for a brand-new model from Netgear, eero, ASUS or Starlink | The maker can keep getting FCC authorizations for the listed product lines while its approval runs |
| Waiting for a brand-new TP-Link model in the US | Depends on TP-Link getting a Conditional Approval, which was not on the October 2 list |
| Planning around Wi-Fi 8 | New Wi-Fi 8 models need new FCC authorizations, so the maker’s approval status matters more than for a Wi-Fi 7 model already on shelves |
That last row is where the rule bites first. TP-Link has announced Wi-Fi 8 routers, and Tom’s Hardware reported on September 10 that the company had not confirmed a US release date for them. A brand without approval can keep selling the models it already has authorized here, but every new US model depends on that approval.
For most households, nothing here changes the buying decision for a current Wi-Fi 7 or Wi-Fi 6 router. Pick on coverage, ports and the maker’s update record; our Wi-Fi 7 router picks and mesh setup guide cover those trade-offs.
What to watch next
- New approval notices. The FCC has been adding router makers in batches, most recently on September 9 (ASUS) and October 2. A TP-Link approval would change the third row of the buying table.
- The first expirations. Netgear’s approval is listed to end October 1, 2027 and eero’s October 31, 2027, the earliest end dates among the brands in our table.
- The update waiver. It runs at least until January 1, 2029, and the FCC has said it will recommend that the full Commission consider codifying it.
How we checked: DecodeGear read the FCC’s public notices DA 26-278, DA 26-286, DA 26-351, DA 26-390, DA 26-454, DA 26-775, DA 26-957 and DA 26-1063, the FCC’s March 23 fact sheet, and TP-Link’s US press statement on October 7, 2026. Approval dates come from the FCC’s documents; where two FCC documents disagree, we show both.
Leave a Reply