Every Wi-Fi router you know is now banned from future US imports
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — the government body that regulates radios, communications, and networking equipment — has just banned the import of all consumer Wi-Fi and wired routers that are manufactured outside the United States. The decision affects virtually every router brand you know: TP-Link, Asus, Netgear, D-Link, Linksys, Eero, and more. Nearly all consumer networking equipment is made in Asia, primarily in China and Taiwan.
The FCC is using the same mechanism it employed in December 2025 when it banned future drones made in foreign countries — by adding foreign-made products to its "Covered List." Being on the Covered List means the FCC will no longer authorize the radio communications in those devices, which effectively makes it illegal to import or sell new units in the US market.
If you already own a router, nothing changes — you can keep using it. Companies that already have FCC radio authorization for specific existing products can continue to import and sell those specific products. But for any new router models? Banned, unless the manufacturer gets an exemption or moves manufacturing to the US.
Why is the US doing this?
The official reasoning comes from the FCC's National Security Determination, which states that "allowing routers produced abroad to dominate the US market creates unacceptable economic, national security, and cybersecurity risks."
The document specifically references three major cyberattack campaigns — Volt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon, and Salt Typhoon — where foreign-made routers were directly implicated in attacks that targeted American critical infrastructure: communications networks, energy systems, transportation, and water treatment facilities. These weren't abstract threats. Volt Typhoon specifically compromised home and office routers to build a botnet that was then used to attack US government and infrastructure networks.
TP-Link has been in the crosshairs for a while. US regulators had previously targeted the brand specifically for its alleged ties to Chinese state interests, with Texas even filing a lawsuit against TP-Link and multiple federal agencies recommending a ban. The new FCC rule effectively does at the category level what previous actions were trying to do at the brand level.
How router companies can get around it
There are two paths forward for router manufacturers who want to keep selling in the US market:
Option A: Get a "conditional approval" from the FCC. This lets them continue importing products while they demonstrate to the US government that they're working toward US-based manufacturing. It's essentially a grace period that buys time for supply chain relocation.
Option B: Skip the US market entirely. This is what Chinese drone maker DJI did after drone import bans started tightening — DJI essentially stopped trying to sell consumer drones in the US rather than restructure manufacturing. Some router brands may make the same calculation.
The practical reality: building router manufacturing capacity in the United States from scratch is a multi-year, multi-billion dollar undertaking. The specialized fabs, the component supply chains, the manufacturing expertise — all of it is currently concentrated in Asia. A "conditional approval" grace period gives companies time to start that transition, but the economics are genuinely challenging.
What this means for router prices
If you're in the US and thinking about buying a new router — the short answer is: buy sooner rather than later. Existing inventory of foreign-made models can still be sold. But as that inventory depletes and US-made replacements either take time to arrive or cost significantly more (US labor and manufacturing costs are higher than Asian manufacturing), router prices will almost certainly rise.
A basic dual-band router currently available for around $50-80 in the US could realistically cost $150-200+ if it has to be manufactured domestically. That cost increase ripples through every home and business that buys networking equipment.
Why this matters for India — even though it's a US policy
India is the world's second-largest internet user base. The routers that power Indian homes and offices — TP-Link is massively popular in India, as are Asus and D-Link — are all made in China or Taiwan. India doesn't have significant domestic router manufacturing.
The US ban doesn't directly affect India. Indian consumers can still buy TP-Link and other foreign-made routers without any restriction. But the policy signals a global geopolitical shift that India should watch carefully.
If the US successfully decouples from Chinese-made networking infrastructure, it creates pressure on allied and partner countries to follow. India has its own concerns about Chinese technology in critical infrastructure — the government banned several Chinese apps after the Galwan Valley conflict in 2020, and there's ongoing scrutiny of Chinese telecom equipment. The router security question is an extension of the same concern.
The Volt Typhoon botnet that the US cited — which used compromised home routers to attack US infrastructure — isn't a uniquely American vulnerability. The same categories of attacks have been documented against Indian networks. A Chinese-manufactured router with a firmware backdoor is equally dangerous in Chennai or Bengaluru as it is in New York. India hasn't moved to ban foreign routers, but the US action adds to the conversation about whether countries should be more careful about the networking hardware that connects their citizens to the internet.
The TP-Link situation in India
TP-Link is arguably the most popular budget router brand in India. Walk into any tech shop or browse Amazon India — TP-Link devices dominate the affordable segment, starting from around ₹1,000-1,500 for basic home routers. The brand has been the go-to recommendation for years for anyone setting up home Wi-Fi without spending much.
In India, there's no government restriction on buying TP-Link. The US concerns about TP-Link's Chinese ownership and potential government access to device firmware remain relevant context, though — Indian users who want to be cautious have alternatives like Asus (Taiwanese), Netgear (US brand, manufactured in Asia), or increasingly, TP-Link's own regional variants sold under local branding.
The honest security advice for Indian users: change the default router admin password, keep firmware updated, disable remote management if you don't need it, and if your router is several years old, consider replacing it regardless of brand. These basic steps matter more day-to-day than which country made the device.
TamilTech's take
The FCC router ban is simultaneously a national security measure and a protectionist trade policy dressed up as national security. Both things are true. The security concerns about Chinese-made networking equipment are legitimate and well-documented — Volt Typhoon was real, the compromised routers were real. And the move to force manufacturing back to the US is also exactly the kind of protectionist industrial policy that the US has been pursuing across multiple technology categories.
For India, the important question isn't what the US is doing — it's what India should be doing. India's internet infrastructure, from home routers to ISP equipment to backhaul networks, is heavily dependent on Chinese-manufactured hardware. The US is betting that this dependence is a security risk. Given India's own China geopolitics, that's a question worth Indian policymakers taking seriously.
In the meantime: if you're shopping for a router in India, your TP-Link options remain available and aren't going anywhere. Just practice basic router security hygiene regardless of what you buy.
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