FCC Bans Foreign-Made Routers as a ‘National Security Risk’

The Federal Communications Commission has moved to ban foreign-made Wi-Fi routers, according to a fact sheet released Monday afternoon. 

The ban includes “all consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries.” Router manufacturers can apply for an exemption, but so far, none have been granted Conditional Approval on the FCC’s website. 

This is a monumental development for the US Wi-Fi router market. Nearly every router available for purchase in this country is 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 “any major stage of the process through which the device is made, including manufacturing, assembly, design and development” occurs outside the US. The ban does not apply to any existing routers that the FCC previously authorized.

“I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign-produced routers, which were found to pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC’s Covered List,” said FCC Chair Brendan Carr in a statement. 

This doesn’t mean you have to replace your existing router. The FCC clarified that it doesn’t apply to previously-purchased routers, but you won’t be able to buy new routers that the FCC hadn’t already authorized before today’s ban. 

TP-Link specifically has been in the US government’s crosshairs for over a year, stemming from its ties to China, with more than half a dozen US departments and agencies reportedly backing a ban at the end of 2025. But today’s FCC action goes well beyond TP-Link and will affect nearly every router company. 

CNET has 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 collect more information.