The government continues its bipartisan mission to reduce the amount of foreign-produced tech gear in the telecommunications and video surveillance markets in the USA. Last month, the FCC added an update to its Covered List that actively targets foreign-made consumer router manufacturers. New model routers produced overseas will not be available in the US consumer market unless they receive conditional approval from DoW or DHS.
The ban comes as a direct result of a National Security Determination issued on March 20th, 2026, by the White House, pointing out that hackers exploit security gaps in foreign-made routers to attack American households. Hackers have used such vulnerabilities to carry out high-profile cyberattacks such as Volt, Flax, and Salt Typhoon. The ban is a government effort to strengthen cybersecurity for millions of Americans. The changes are now visible in the FCC Covered list update published last month. The ban does not affect professional-grade routers.
Key takeaways
- National security concerns drive the ban on foreign-made consumer networking equipment.
- The government ban affects only new models of consumer routers.
- The FCC impacts future models from almost all major consumer router brands. And will need to apply for Conditional Approval from DoW or DHS.
- The ban is accelerating interest in prosumer and SMB/enterprise-lite gear for home networks.
Which brands are affected by the ban on consumer-grade WiFi routers?
Almost all of the popular consumer router brands used by Americans fall under the new rules. The statement is supported by a report published earlier this month. The report, based on Speedtest.net usage, confirms that all the top ten router brands used in the USA are affected by the ban. And that manufacturers will have to knock on the White House’s door and seek conditional approval if they want their upcoming products to be sold in the USA.
Are old models going to be banned?
No, they are not going to be banned, and people who already own foreign-made equipment can continue to use it. The decision only aims to regulate future router imports to the US better. Even though the government won’t force people to buy new gear, the news has prompted people to start looking into prosumer solutions that don’t fall under the ban list.
Suddenly, brands such as Ubiquiti and EnGenius, typically associated with SMB and small-enterprise businesses, along with many other prosumer solutions that offer WiFi 7. They quickly gained attention from users who want to future-proof their home networks.
Does the FCC ban on consumer routers open the door for prosumer gear for home use?
It does; there are multiple practical WiFi networking solutions available at reasonable prices and are relatively easy to deploy. However, even those come with caveats. Easy deployment might not be as easy as a plug-and-play consumer router and may require technical knowledge. Business-oriented networking solutions are often harder to troubleshoot and may cost more.
It is not a secret that U.S.-assembled routers are almost nonexistent outside niche cases (like some Starlink gear). And the banned vendors will find a way, one way or another, to eventually obtain those valuable government conditional approvals. To obtain them, they will either start manufacturing new products right here in the US or meet the security requirements set by DoW and DHS, which are currently not publicly known. The latter will likely be the option most vendors will pick.
