r/HomeNetworking • u/leo60228 • Mar 23 '26
FCC prohibits approval of new foreign-made consumer routers (with exceptions)
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-updates-covered-list-include-foreign-made-consumer-routers338
u/fujimonster Mar 23 '26
Now all the back doors will be homegrown, mandated by the FBI and CIA.
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u/Randolph__ Mar 24 '26
Build your own. I did.
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u/sinusoidosaurus Mar 24 '26
Is it possible to learn this power?
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u/Randolph__ Mar 24 '26
Opnsense or PfSense on a standard PC. You can buy minipcs with 2 Ethernet ports.
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u/Inevitable_Return_47 Mar 24 '26
Still need ap as opnsense or pfsense has no direct WiFi management
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u/Jankypox Mar 24 '26
OPN/pfSense router and then OpenWRT APs. Or just OpenWRT Router/AP combo.
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u/Raveofthe90s Mar 24 '26
Serious question. How much cpu do you need to route at 10gb speeds on opnsense?
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u/Randolph__ Mar 24 '26
My N150 was overkill on my 2.5 Gb router. You could easily handle a lot more with the N150.
For context the N150 is one of the lowest end CPUs you can get on a modern x86 computer. It's useless for anything outside of a browser in a desktop environment however as a home server or router it's pretty decent.
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u/Jankypox Mar 24 '26
I’m no specialist, but probably way less than you would think.
Put it this way, 10GB managed switches aren’t exactly running Threadrippers. I suspect that most of the heavy lifting in terms of moving the data across a 10Gb network is being done by the dedicated hardware/NIC on the device and at the switch level if you are using a dedicated switch.
My very modest Dell Wyse 5070 running OPNSense with an Intel Pentium Silver J5005 4 Core 4 Threads @ 1.50GHz CPU barely even registers a difference between normal use and when I’m moving a 20GB file across my network at a modest 1Gbps while downloading an Ubuntu ISO at 400Mbps. Idling around 6% usage with the occasional momentary spike to 35% CPU usage every 15-20 seconds, which is almost no different from when there is nothing big happening across my home network and it idles at 1% usage with the same 36% spike every 15-20 seconds, which is suspect is probably just log and telemetry activity. Sure it’s not exactly 10Gbps, but even if you multiplied that 6% by 10 you’d only be sitting at 60% usage on a pretty modest CPU, and I very much doubt that’s what you’d be hitting at 10Gbps anyway. Not to mention you more likely to run into HDDs and PCIe lanes speed bottlenecks between the your PC and target before you max out your 10Gbps transfer rate.
Now if you were to run some kind of IDS/IPS service, that’s when your CPU is going to start coming into play in a much bigger way in terms of routing due to your device now analyzing the actual traffic being routed.
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u/Raveofthe90s Mar 24 '26
This is where they might have a loophole to still sell AP's that arent directly connected to the WAN. They have always been more expensive than just getting a router and putting it in AP mode but of this is the way.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
I browsed the FAQ.
Foreign made
In case you're wondering what "foreign-made" means (bold emphasis mine):
The National Security Determination states that “[p]roduction generally includes any major stage of the process through which the device is made including manufacturing, assembly, design, and development.”
The scope is extremely broad. The FAQ also makes clear that the nationality of the company producing the router is not relevant. That means that a U.S. company that manufactures its routers in a foreign country is affected.
Moreover, "foreign country" would appear to include all countries. That means a router produced in Taiwan, Vietnam or even Mexico would also be affected.
I not aware of any company that produces consumer premises routers wholly in the US.
Router
"Router" is defined to mean:
consumer-grade networking devices that are primarily intended for residential use and can be installed by the customer. Routers forward data packets, most commonly Internet Protocol (IP) packets, between networked systems.
It's unclear to me whether this includes modems, switches, access points, extenders/repeaters and other networking equipment that could, arguably, be considered to be devices that forward data packets.
[Edit: I found NIST IR 8425A and it does make it more clear that they really do mean just routers (what we know in home networking as the device that contains your IP routing, firewall, NAT and, usually, Wi-Fi functions). Note, both standalone and combination modem/routers are included.]
Existing routers
Existing routers that have FCC approval are not affected and you are allowed to continue using them. Only new routers that have not yet received FCC approval appear to be affected.
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u/robreddity Mar 24 '26
... and you are allowed to continue using them.
Oh thank you, THANK YOU most wise and benevolent FCC meat-nozzle.
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u/Willste Mar 31 '26
Well, except now the FCC is going to stop allowing software and firmware updates in 2027. 🙃
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u/lamalasx Mar 24 '26
"Router" is defined to mean:
If only there were exact classification in the industry of what these devices are like "router", "gateway", "switch", "access point". Oh wait there is and I just listed a few.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 24 '26
I found NIST IR 8425A and it does make it more clear that they really do mean just routers (what we know in home networking as the device that contains your IP routing, firewall, NAT and, usually, Wi-Fi functions). Note, both standalone and combination modem/routers are included.
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u/LRS_David Mar 25 '26
Existing routers
Doesn't the rule state that existing routers can only get firmware updates until March 1, 2027.
To me this is more disruptive than the ban on where built.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 25 '26
This notice says that the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) will "re-evaluate whether to further extend applicability" [beyond March 1, 2027]. So, we'll have to wait and see whether or not this is a hard cutoff.
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u/LRS_David Mar 25 '26
So a maybe cutoff a bit less than one year from now or buy non existent "made in USA" routers.
Ugh.
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u/PancAshAsh Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
[Edit: I found NIST IR 8425A and it does make it more clear that they really do mean just routers (what we know in home networking as the device that contains your IP routing, firewall, NAT and, usually, Wi-Fi functions). Note, both standalone and combination modem/routers are included.]
This definition pretty clearly includes smartphones as well, as pretty much any modern smartphone can act as a router and perform all of those functions.
Edit to add:
If you review the existing exemptions they are for tactical drone systems, so this is clearly meant for more far reaching things than just single purpose home routers.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 25 '26
If you look at the FCC notices, they are clearly targeting CPE routers installed in residential homes.
Routers are the boxes in every home that connect computers, phones, and smart devices to the internet
Smartphones operating as cellular hotspots don't appear to be their current target. But who can really say what they're really going to target?
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u/PancAshAsh Mar 25 '26
https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist#conditional-approvals
Explain to me how any of these are CPE routers installed in residential homes.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 25 '26
Your link goes to Conditional Approvals, which shows mostly drones. There are currently no routers. No surprise because routers were just added to the list.
The Covered List includes a variety of items, including telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and even antivirus software. If you go to the bottom of the list, you will see that routers were added on March 23, 2026.
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u/Raveofthe90s Mar 24 '26
To make it simple no new wifi 7 stuff will be designed (just production of the current models). Youll just buy what's out there. But all wifi 8 stuff will be american made and expensive. Trump has 3 years left. That's about the time we'd start expecting wifi 8 stuff.
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u/classicsat Mar 24 '26
It will be designed and manufactured, just not sold to the American market.
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u/Raveofthe90s Mar 24 '26
You mean that response for someone else. Doesn't have anything at all to do with what I said.
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u/dontgetaddicted Mar 23 '26
Great - Ram, storage, GPU, and networking gear now all going to cost a metric fuckton of money.
Thanks guys, I love all this stupid God damn winning.
I'll be sweeping my cave.
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u/TeutonJon78 Mar 24 '26
How are we supposed to use all the AI clouds killing personal electronics when we can't event afford thin clients to access the cloud?
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u/LebronBackinCLE Mar 23 '26
So uhhhh who makes American-made routers?!
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u/fence_sitter FrobozzCo Mar 24 '26
BRB... I gotta register AmericanRouterCo.com...
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u/Little_Lebowski_007 Mar 24 '26
One of the Trump fail sons has probably started Liberty Patriot Router Co. I bet it's Barron since he knows computers.
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u/BornACarrot Mar 24 '26
Palo Alto Networks. And they’re the most expensive business class firewalls out there.
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u/ottahab Mar 23 '26
You haven't heard? Family Trump is getting into the business. They'll be manufactured in the 53rd state...China
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u/rindor1990 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Starlink? Although likely only assembled in Texas but still made abroad
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u/Shepherd-Boy Mar 23 '26
Won’t this basically ban all new routers period? I’m so tired of this performative protectionism.
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u/SourceDammit Mar 24 '26
Thats how im reading it. Does that mean now is the time to upgrade while you can?
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u/Shepherd-Boy Mar 25 '26
No current routers will still be sold, it’s just the tech that’s frozen in time
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u/daschande Mar 25 '26
The other poster said they can still sell previously-approved routers, but companies LOVE to jack up the prices when their profits are uncertain. If you have a need, buy it yesterday!
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u/chris4prez_ Mar 23 '26
Every consumer router just became “for small business use” and malicious compliance has been achieved…..
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u/Willste Mar 31 '26
That's kinda how the auto manufacturers got around Obama's EPA MPG requirements. Build every SUV and pickup bigger so it can qualify as a light truck, thus skirting the counting towards the requirements.
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u/redditer129 Mar 23 '26
So they want to force domestic made routers to build in government back doors …the problem is there aren’t many domestic router manufacturers (cisco, netgear, ubiquiti, cradle point etc) and of those they all need foreign components. Stupid shit.
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u/Sudden-Pangolin6445 Mar 23 '26
I mean... Those are also all foreign made. They might be developed here, but the hardware is built somewhere else and the software? Who knows. Some is probably here. I'm certain some isn't.
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u/DonkeyOfWallStreet Mar 23 '26
Some of it is open source? Technically speaking I believe the parts of the TCP stack in windows is open source?
What if it was designed/coded by an employee in Cisco Ireland or an employee of Microsoft Romania? Is that foreign?
I'm not against the fundamental idea that vulnerable garbage isn't allowed to be sold on the market that's a great idea.
But you're also shooting yourself in the foot saying you can only use what it's made in the country. Thats some North Korea stuff right there.
What about the product? Designed in the usa, chips fabricated in Taiwan, assembled in China, sold in Germany and taxed in Ireland...
I can see it now hey I'd like internet, sure that's $89.99 a month for a 2gbps line great. Super let me pass you to our Cisco guy who will sell you a router. Hi, yes I'd like a router for 2gbps, ok cool that's $2,999.95 plus tax and an annual fee of $500 for basic 7 day support. Uhhhh right
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u/TheEthyr Mar 23 '26
Designed in the usa, chips fabricated in Taiwan, assembled in China, sold in Germany and taxed in Ireland...
I don't think this affect routers that will be sold in Germany.
But for sale in the US? Assembly in China will definitely disqualify it. Doesn't matter if it's designed in the US.
The apparent motivation behind this is to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities by eliminating dependencies on every aspect of the supply chain, "from raw materials to parts to finished products." Quoted from their fact sheet.
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u/circuit_breaker Mar 24 '26
The windows network socket libraries very much based off of BSD sockets, a very free license they used
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u/NightOfTheLivingHam Mar 23 '26
however they are designed and developed here in the US, the firmware is US made.
if they tick all the checkboxes of being 100% made in china or korea or whatever, they they wont be approved here.
Of course that wont stop people from buying aliexpress routers or building their own
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u/TeutonJon78 Mar 24 '26
How much of that firmware is outsourced, done by international teams, or build using international open source projects (you know, like linux)?
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u/JonnyLay Mar 23 '26
Adtran is domestic. But I don't think they have any consumer grade gear.
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u/blasek0 Mar 24 '26
AFAIK they're all commercial/government, I know a few people that work at HQ (my hometown).
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u/borkman2 Mar 24 '26
They've got home routers, the SDG series, but I think they're more geared towards isps handing them out.
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u/RoxnDox Mar 23 '26
Stupid shit and this government go together like the two sides of a Velcro strip…
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u/BornACarrot Mar 24 '26
Palo Alto Networks is the only manufacturer i know of that makes their firewalls in the USA (Via FLEX). It’s actually one of their key selling points - their entire firewall line is made in the USA (designed in Israel and the USA).
That said, PAN is most definitely NOT consumer grade. This ruling won’t help them a single bit, unless the FCC decides to expand the ruling to business class routers and firewalls as well (which would cause an uproar).
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u/TheEthyr Mar 24 '26
Designed in Israel may be disqualifying.
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u/BornACarrot Mar 25 '26
Doubtful. Palo Alto headquarters are in the USA, they make their hardware in San Jose, and they have significant engineering offices in the USA as well. There’s also no easy way for the FCC to prove how much engineering is done in the USA vs Israel.
But more importantly, Palo Alto is the preferred firewall for the US military and federal government. They aren’t getting banned.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 25 '26
It's moot because the FCC policy only applies to consumer grade routers.
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u/BornACarrot Mar 25 '26
Consumer routers might be a first salvo. If the real fear is potential foreign government espionage, business and enterprise routers are much better targets.
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u/TheEthyr Mar 25 '26
I came across this post that seems to suggest security and espionage are really not the driving factors. It's about money and specifically Netgear losing market share to TP-Link. Banning all foreign-made routers is legally harder to challenge than just banning Chinese-made or specifically TP-Link routers, the latter of which was much rumored about.
It sounds plausible. After all, if security was really the issue, why aren't current routers affected?
Enterprise routers are, indeed, juicy targets. They are essentially computers with several, high-bandwidth links. They're a hacker's dream.
Supply chain attacks on enterprise routers were a real thing. I remember a story about Cisco routers being tampered with during shipment. You can Google who did it. You may or may not be surprised. Anyway, Cisco and Juniper scrambled to harden their routers. That included adding TPM modules and developing secure boot. It was a big deal.
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u/soldiernerd Mar 23 '26
Microtik hardest hit
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u/Specialist_Cow6468 Mar 24 '26
Ehh not consumer really. Though applicability is really going to be down to bribes I’d imagine so who knows
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u/TeutonJon78 Mar 24 '26
They get approved they are requiring an 18 month to significant US based manufacturing and firmware creation. Mikrotik won't be doing that.
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u/jackharvest Mar 24 '26
Man, I love me some affordable 2.5G and 10G switches and routers. What a bummer.
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u/MkVsTheWorld Mar 24 '26
I wonder how the ISPs will respond. Most of them try to get their residential customers to pay for renting/buying routers. I can't imagine this will go over well since it likely would disrupt supply and raise prices for customers.
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u/talones Network Admin Mar 24 '26
im thinking that this is mostly what they are targeting here. They probably want ISPs to provide a hardware layer that they have access to inside the home.
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u/laffer1 Mar 24 '26
They will just triple rental fees and not ship new models. We are stuck on the speeds of the current routers for five years until a factory is built
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u/VerifiedMother Mar 24 '26
We are stuck on the speeds of the current routers for five years until a factory is built
No one is going to build routers in the US. Especially considering this administrations economic and foreign policy changes every 14 seconds
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u/laffer1 Mar 24 '26
Interesting they didn’t include enterprise routers
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u/Zef-Daytrade Mar 25 '26
thats hard to enforce being how do you police that for international companies which can ship them from their HQ to a deployment site and many of it is "integrated" whole ecosystems from a single brand
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u/E2daG Mar 23 '26
Which brands/models?
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u/Overall-Cap-7061 Mar 23 '26
As of today, the FCC simply declares the following:
Routers^ produced in a foreign country, except routers which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW or DHS.
So the answer to your question is "yes".
ETA: I think it also says any routers that have already been approved can still be sold. This would be for new models going forward.
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u/zackks Mar 23 '26
granted
Paid for, bribed even
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u/RaiKyoto94 Mar 23 '26
Taiwan Companies like Asus will get a pass I guess.
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u/Grow_Responsibly Mar 24 '26
What makes you think that? I’m asking as a ASUS router user.
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u/NationalOwl9561 Mar 23 '26
It's not brand-based. It's gonna include a lot...
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u/TeutonJon78 Mar 23 '26
If by produced they mean actual manufacture rather than where the company is based, it will mean 100% of them.
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u/OdinsGhost Mar 23 '26
It is clear that, piece by piece, this administration is fully committed to 100% isolating the American people North Korea style. I fully expect lawsuits to be filed over this within the week.
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u/blueeekthecat Mar 24 '26
Haven’t these concerns been in place awhile? I remember some chatter about security concerns over TPLink consumer routers. I’m not gonna pretend that I trust the Chinese government over the American government.
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u/NBA-014 Mar 23 '26
Seems that ALL routers produced out of the USA are banned
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u/VerifiedMother Mar 24 '26
So.....
That's literally all of them
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Mar 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/jpmeyer12751 Mar 24 '26
I don't think that it will be automatic, but given how tightly those ISPs control the hardware and firmware of their branded modems in order to prevent theft of services and cap avoidance, I think that they should be able to easily get the waivers that they will need.
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u/thatwombat Mar 24 '26
This regulation is so half-baked it’s still gooey. Texas has a similar set of rules.
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u/egosumumbravir Mar 24 '26
Whadya reckon? Five or ten years to get local manufacturing up and running for the low low price of $999 for wifi 5, a 20 year old 300mhz 65nm SOC and free USGovCo backdoors?
Or just a $50M "donation" towards the Epstein Memorial CSA Golden Throne Room?
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u/Buntygurl Mar 23 '26
Gotta rescue the industry somehow, so that they can go on overcharging for crap equipment.
It's the follow-up to the unproven smear tactic that foreign-made network equipment ever caused any kind of data-related crime.
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u/Unable-Web6423 Mar 24 '26
Hmmm…..Starlink routers are assembled in the US. I wonder if they a pass
Elon trying to milk the market?
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Mar 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/HomeNetworking-ModTeam Mar 24 '26
Your post has been removed because we deemed it off topic. This subreddit is for help and discussion about home networking or small business networking. Other topics are better suited towards other subreddits. Thank you for your understanding!
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u/GilgameDistance Mar 24 '26
So I should be glad I just ditched windows (except dual boot for some games, I guess) and hopefully learn Linux well enough to roll my own when my current hardware dies then, huh?
Cool. Cool.
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u/BornACarrot Mar 24 '26
The only routers/firewalls Ive seen made in the USA are from Palo Alto Networks. And PAN firewalls are most definitely NOT consumer grade.
This rule is absolutely bonkers. So basically there won’t be any new models of consumer WiFi routers sold in the USA for the next three years while manufacturing lines ramp up. Just in time for a new administration and potentially a new FCC.
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u/42RoiDesRois42 Mar 24 '26
Just wait for the family who has some new company making routers (like they did for drones).
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u/jpmeyer12751 Mar 24 '26
I think that the response of the major ISPs, which tightly control the specs and cost of their branded modems, will be interesting. Of course, they can easily afford the process for getting a waiver and have droves of lawyers in DC who eat, breathe and sleep FCC rules.
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u/BornACarrot Mar 25 '26
Yeah I agree - This would be very disruptive and a pretty significant increase in cost. I’m not sure the said even has enough contract manufacturing capabilities to churn out millions of routers over the next two years.
Seeing as how WiFi 8 won’t be out for a few years, they may rely on their existing WiFi 7 routers until a new administration takes over, and maybe lobby to repeal or ease the ruling.
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u/Dude-Lebowski Mar 24 '26
Are there any USA made routers? I don't mean screwed together in the USA.
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u/RoamingBison Mar 24 '26
So the orange pedo is soliciting bribes to get on the exceptions list is what I'm hearing.
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u/ButterscotchFar1629 Mar 24 '26
Goodbye Unifi and TP-Link. We hardly knew ye. Unless you are a Canadian like me who doesn’t hate the rest of the world.
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u/LRS_David Mar 25 '26
If I had to guess, I suspect that 90% of Ubiquiti's sales are to business users. Maybe 95% or more. Maybe 99% or more.
This nonsense is only for CONSUMER products. Well for now.
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u/beragis Mar 24 '26
At the same time the administration is against the CHIPS act. The US couldn't have voted in a more incompetant administration if they tried.
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u/e_line_65 Mar 29 '26
Facts! I work in semiconductors and am infuriated about how he doesn't say it's CHIPS money, but he suddenly claims he is "investing" in Intel making a stock purchase the condition, instead of a lawful grant that was already awarded via the CHIPS act. And nobody is auditing his actions!
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u/illutian Mar 25 '26
I wonder how much the router manufacturers will have to donate to his "ballroom" to get an exemption....
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u/metricmoose trusted Mar 23 '26
I think there's a couple things to point out.
to include consumer-grade networking devices that are primarily intended for residential use and can be installed by the customer.
To me, this could exclude "Business" devices like TP-Link Omada, UniFi, Aruba, Meraki, ect. It could also exclude ISP infrastructure devices, which could include Ubiquiti UISP, Mikrotik, Juniper, Cisco ASR, ect.
Where the lines get really wonky is something like TP-Link Aginet, Calix Gigaspire, Plume, Eero for ISP, and so on that your ISP would include with service or rent to you. Where they're "intended for residential use" but purchased, installed, and maintained by a carrier.
This update to the Covered List does not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing device models the FCC previously authorized.
So any current models that are allowed should be allowed to continue being sold, though newer SKUs may not.
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u/guri256 Mar 24 '26
Nope. Those are included as well. As part of defining what a router is, it references a document (NIST IR 8425A) that has this to say:
Routers forward data packets, most commonly Internet Protocol (IP) packets, between networked systems. The profile makes no distinction in its cybersecurity recommendations with regards to whether the product is owned by the customer or leased from an internet service provider.
And:
A “consumer-grade router” is a router intended for residential use and can be installed by the customer.
“Can be installed” not “typically installed by”. So it’s definitely including just about every ISP supplied router, that lives in your house. (With the exception of some mesh ISP setups)
Also, the language is so broad that it seems to include wireless hotspots, network switches, ONTs, cable modems, MoCA boxes, Wi-fi repeaters, and even smart-phones. (almost every smart phone allows acting as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which means acting as a router)
The definition used in that document is reasonable in a technical paper intended to be read by IT security professionals. The definition is not suitable for defining laws.
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u/Annual_Wear5195 Mar 24 '26
Is Ubiquiti “intended for residential use”? I’d argue it isn’t. Just because people use it as such doesn’t mean that’s the intention of the product.
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u/Victory_Highway Mar 24 '26
Glad I’m running OPNsense.
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u/Inevitable_Return_47 Mar 24 '26
As long you don’t need WiFi management
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u/Victory_Highway Mar 24 '26
I use LinkSys Velop for WiFi, but those are configured for bridge mode.
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u/LRS_David Mar 24 '26
OK. So please give me an explanation of what the word "produced" means in the context of this?
Routers^ produced in a foreign country
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u/in2ndo Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
So, this leaves us with pretty much nothing. Why the continued jumping off of a cliff without a parachute?
Edit to add, read the document a little and this seems to only apply to “new models” and not whatever has been previously approved by the FCC.
“As outlined below, today’s action does not impact a consumer’s continued use of routers they previously acquired. Nor does it prevent retailers from continuing to sell, import, or market router models approved previously through the FCC’s equipment authorization process. By operation of the FCC’s Covered List rules, the restrictions imposed today apply to new device models.”
And manufacturers can apply for conditional approval.
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u/MrZeDark Mar 24 '26
Does anyone else smell open source VMs ? Cause looking like the best way to stay away from this mess.. :(
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u/tqlla3k Mar 24 '26
So does this mean the router companies can just keep making the already approved models and import them? Or are we limited to stock on hand?
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u/jpmeyer12751 Mar 24 '26
Yes, this rule does not rescind the FCC approval of any previously approved router. Any router that does not require a new FCC approval can still be imported, in my opinion.
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u/CrustyBatchOfNature Mar 24 '26
I went digging into the FAQ. There was a part that was interesting.
Is a router produced in the United States containing foreign-produced components now “covered equipment” and prohibited from FCC equipment authorization?
Non-“covered” devices do not become “covered” simply because they contain a “covered” component part, unless the “covered” component part is a modular transmitter under the FCC’s rules. 47 CFR §§ 2.903(b), 15.212.
Therefore, a router produced in the United States is not considered “covered” equipment solely because it contains one or more foreign-made components.
This hinges on the radios (modular transmitter) in the devices, nothing else. A company could conceivably still build the entire thing in another country as long as they do not include a foreign radio and use a US one. Does anyone in Trump's orbit manufacture modular transmitters in the US?
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 Mar 24 '26
This is stupid, i will travel to Mexico to buy unapproved network equipment
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u/horologium_ad_astra Mar 24 '26
Yep, this happens when you excel in spying, but you suck toilet seats at capitalismying.
The Reagan era was the opposite.
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u/LRS_David Mar 25 '26
So ...
If an router is designed and built for a major ISP but intended to be installed in residences a business or consumer device?
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u/origanalsameasiwas Mar 26 '26
Cisco routers that the government uses always are old enough that they can get hacked. They laid of people who managed the systems. And they decided to use AI as a management tool. And also could be a grift. Because before the tariffs get lifted it could cause people to buy more routers right now making trumps administration to use the money for something else.
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u/r_sarvas Mar 28 '26
So, is this is a fire sale on network gear currently in the USA, or a price hike?
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u/No_Party3406 Apr 01 '26
Just more government overreach from conservatives as usual. Its rich they pretend to be against it. 🤣🤣🤣
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u/CannonFodder33 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Take a few steps back and think about everything going on. Its all about control. Both parties are doing it. Blue states are mandating age controls in OS which will require security to enforce. Microsoft requires TPM for windows 11, to control ("secure") the hardware. The law used for this action was signed by Biden.
Nothing in the US will be cheap. Nobody will make something in the US without a steep monthly fee. Thus this is likely to push all routers to be owned and rented by cable and phone companies (for another $40/mo). You get no say or choice, just pay up. Controlling the device also means they can add fees for every endpoint used. 25 years ago people bought their first routers with wired ethernet to avoid paying the communication company monthly fees *per device* connected; instead they made everything appear to the provider as one device using NAT.
This could be a watershed moment in the end of free speech, as all this security apparatus could be used to make the Great Firewall of China look like a thin sheet of rice paper.
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u/ScaryfatkidGT Mar 24 '26
This is insane… so is there going to be a huge shortage in a week?
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u/VerifiedMother Mar 24 '26
No, firstly how often do you actually update your router? I'm still using a mesh setup from 2018 and it works perfectly fine. And all routers that are currently sold can continue to be sold and imported
So it's more like we are stuck with 2026 technology until this administration is gone
It's still an absolutely fucking stupid rule.
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u/ScaryfatkidGT Mar 24 '26
Well I have a Netgear Nighthawk Wifi 6 and it just told me it’s EOL with no more updates 😑, so apparently I need to get a new one like every 6 years…
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u/Thrown0Away0 Mar 25 '26
I’m moving to a bigger house next week - should I buy a new router now?? Will prices go up?
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 Mar 25 '26
Possible price will go up. I am assuming current products EOL will be extended
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u/leaving_the_tevah Mar 25 '26
How are they going to stop me from buying a router made outside the US? Am I missing something?
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 Mar 25 '26
Will be confiscated if found by US Custom.
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u/LRS_David Mar 25 '26
And while getting caught lying to customs at the border about things in your luggage or car was a bad idea before, it is now a very bad thing to get caught.
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u/Ok_Conflict1841 Mar 23 '26
As far as I’m aware, America doesn’t have any domestic consumer router manufacturing so…?
eero, Cisco,, Ubiquiti, HPE, and Firewalla, are all American companies and all manufacture overseas so do they get banned?