The FCC put foreign-made routers on its Covered List. What that means for your house.

What did the FCC do?

In March 2026 the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced consumer-grade routers to its Covered List. That means no new foreign-made consumer router model can receive FCC equipment authorization. Without authorization a model cannot be imported, marketed or sold in the United States (Wiley). The rule turns on where the router is produced, not where the company is based. The FCC's stated reason is that home and small-office routers built abroad have been used as a way into American homes and networks by state-backed attackers.

The headline reads as if every router is now illegal. It is not, and the details below are the ones that matter.

Does my existing router still work, and is it legal?

Yes to both. The rule applies to new models seeking authorization. A router already in your home with an existing FCC ID can stay in service, and retailers can keep selling already-authorized inventory. Nothing in the order requires a homeowner in Kent or Tacoma to remove anything (Spiceworks).

Will it keep getting security updates?

Yes, under a waiver the FCC has extended to at least January 1, 2029. The original order let foreign-made routers keep receiving firmware and security updates under a waiver that was to expire March 1, 2027. The FCC has since pushed that date to at least January 1, 2029 (The Record).

So March 2027 is not a cutoff, and articles built around that date, including an earlier version of this one, are out of date. What remains true: a router that eventually stops receiving patches does not stop working, it stops being defended. For the device that carries your cameras, alarm hub, thermostat, locks and every phone in the house, that is the real exposure. The extension buys time; it does not remove the question.

Which routers does it affect?

Any new consumer router model produced outside the United States, which describes most of the consumer and ISP-supplied routers on the market. A US-headquartered brand that manufactures overseas is covered the same way as a foreign one. We do not keep a public list by brand, because manufacturing locations change. What we do is read the label and FCC ID on the router in your house during a network assessment in Kent, Tacoma or anywhere in between. Then we tell you where it stands.

Most South Sound homes we visit have one of four setups. The first is an ISP-supplied gateway, the second a consumer router bought as an upgrade. The third is a mesh system with pucks around the house, and the fourth an older router that has been running for years. All four keep working. The difference is how long the manufacturer will support them and how well they handle a smart home, and the second question usually decides the first.

What router is not affected?

One built in the United States, and the one we start from is the Island Router. Island is designed and assembled in the US by PerfTech, and it is a wired router with no built-in Wi-Fi (Island support). Every feature is subscription-free with no cloud account required to run it (Island Router). Because it is US-built, new models can continue to be authorized and updates are not tied to the waiver at all.

Two models cover most homes. Island is for internet service up to 1 Gbps and up to 5,000 devices, and Island Pro has 10 Gbps SFP+ ports, 40 Gbps aggregate throughput and up to 10,000 devices (Island Router). Take a house with Ajax cameras, a Control4 controller, streaming in several rooms and forty client devices. We spec from the device count now and in three years, not from square footage. The full comparison is on the Island Router page; our field notes are in the Island Router review and the Island Pro Mini review.

What should you do?

Plan, do not panic. The decision depends on what your network carries.

In every case the router is the small part of the job. Wired access points on each floor, a PoE switch, labeled cabling and VLANs that separate cameras, automation and guests are what make a network hold. They are designed on a site survey. That process is on the Wi-Fi and networking page, and the mesh versus wired access points guide explains why the pucks go.

Why did the FCC do this?

Because consumer routers had become an entry point. The Commission followed a national security determination by a federal interagency panel and cited state-sponsored campaigns that exploited vulnerabilities in home and small-office routers to reach households, infrastructure and communications (Wiley). Whether manufacturers challenge the order is a separate question. The reasoning holds regardless: a router that no longer gets patches, sitting at the center of a home network, is a liability. The time to choose its replacement is before that happens.

Need it installed?

Rivas Technology Group installs the Island Router and designs home and business networks from Kent across south King County and Pierce County. Book a network assessment and we will tell you where your router stands and what we would put in its place. If you already know you want a US-built router, the Island and Island Pro are in our shop, shipped nationwide, with a one-hour remote setup if you want it configured with you.