The FCC has softened its March 2026 ban on foreign-made consumer routers by extending the deadline for software and firmware updates from March 2027 to at least January 2029, and expanding the scope of permissible updates beyond minor security patches. The original ban prohibited foreign manufacturers from selling new router models in the US due to national security concerns. Security experts note the revision prevents a dangerous security vacuum that would have left millions of deployed devices unpatched, but warn it doesn't resolve the underlying risk of foreign-manufactured hardware in sensitive networks. Recommended mitigations include zero-trust principles, strong identity verification, and least-privilege access regardless of hardware origin.
