FCC Bans New Foreign Router Imports, Threatening WiFi 8 Upgrades

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 13

March FCC rules barred imports of new foreign-manufactured wireless router models, a move now threatening consumers’ next round of home WiFi upgrades as WiFi 8 hardware approaches.
Security fears drove the ban: the agency cited the risk that foreign adversaries could remotely seize home routers, pointing to the Volt Typhoon campaign tied to Chinese attackers.
Conditional approvals have since cleared some models from Asus, Eero, Netgear and Starlink, but the FCC has not said whether the process uncovered or fixed any specific vulnerabilities.
Analyst Anshel Sag called the ban pointless because the FCC told existing router users they “do not need to do anything,” undercutting the case for a broad import block.
For households struggling with coverage now, the practical fixes remain mesh systems starting around $200, wired connections where possible, and waiting for WiFi 8’s reliability gains next year.