Good luck, Americans, your Wi-Fi choices are about to get worse weve tested hundreds of routers and every single one of our favorites is made outside of the US

Date:
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Description:
Judging by our best routers guide, if the FCC does ban non-US-made devices, Americans could be in for a rough ride.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was
successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter If youre in the US and thinking of buying a new router to upgrade your homes Wi-Fi, your choices could soon be drastically reduced, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has introduced a ban on routers made outside of the US , claiming that theres an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.

The move follows recent high-profile cyberattacks, in which the FCC claims that routers produced abroad were directly implicated. While this reasoning
is understandable, as routers are an important part of any home or business that sends and receives data from the internet, and that data can contain sensitive information, a cursory glance at our best routers list reveals what could be a major problem for Americans, as not a single router we recommend
is made in the US. Article continues below You may like Why the US just
banned foreign-made routers and what it means for you The best Wi-Fi routers 2026 RAM price hike crisis could get even worse as US threatens 100% tariffs In fact, over the many years and 100s of routers Ive reviewed or helped publish, I can only think of a small handful of routers that were 100% made
in the US and since Apple killed off its AirPort range of routers, that pool of Made in the USA routers is now even smaller. Rooting for routers Our best routers list is dominated by TP-Link (Chinese), Asus (Taiwanese), and Acer (Taiwanese) routers all fantastic products, but any new routers made by
those companies could now be banned from sale in the US.

There are, however, several excellent routers from Netgear , which is an American company. However, while the company is US-based, most of its manufacturing is done in Asia (mainly Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, after moving from China to avoid Donald Trumps 25% tarrifs on Chinese imports).

Moreover, its routers, like many of its competitors, run on Realtek chips, which are built in Taiwan. As the FCC specifically mentions that it will no longer authorize foreign-made radios in routers, which handle wireless
network transmissions and are a key part of the chip that powers the router, it means that Netgears routers could still be banned, despite its stock price rising by almost 20% since the FCC announcement. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

If this is the case, then people in the US could have even more trouble finding routers worth buying in the future it could certainly end with our best routers list being filled with routers that cant be bought in the US. Beat the ban with these router deals 409 Amazon customer reviews 32.95 16.98 View Deal 61.99 View Deal 63.99 View Deal Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices What are your options? There are some potential ways router makers could work around this ban. Netgear,
for example, could once again move its hardware manufacturing, this time to the US, which is likely the favored outcome of the US government. However, that would be extremely time-consuming and costly, and would likely result in price rises for Netgears routers (many of which are already plenty
expensive).

The FCC also said that router makers could apply for "conditional approval", which could allow future routers to be sold in the US; however, its not currently clear what this process would entail. What to read next The best mesh Wi-Fi system 2026 DJI gets a partial reprieve on US drone ban here's what that means Texas sues TP-Link over suspected China links and concern for security vulnerabilities

While theres a lot of confusion about this latest development, one thing Im pretty certain of is that buying a new router could soon become more
expensive for people in the US, especially if budget options dry up.

I worry it could even impact people who arent interested in buying a new router. If you use the free router that comes with your broadband service, those routers might also be subject to the ban, which would mean your ISP would have to source new devices. That will likely cost money, and sadly,
that cost will probably be passed down to customers, if not in the actual price of the router, which is usually included as part of your subscription, but in higher monthly prices.

With the price of computers and laptops rising thanks to the RAM shortage , I had ended up recommending people upgrade their Wi-Fi routers as the new best value improvements they could make. That could soon be outdated advice (for the US, at least, not the rest of the world, which will still be able to buy these routers). As I told my colleagues when I initially heard the news: Good luck, Americans, you'll have nice-looking but expensive routers from now on.

So, what do I now recommend people do? For a start, dont panic your router isnt going to stop working or suddenly become illegal. This ban only affects upcoming routers, so existing ones will continue to work fine.

However, if youre thinking of upgrading your router, it might be best to act sooner rather than later, before your options dwindle. Having said that, dont rush any decision, as these routers wont disappear from store shelves overnight. Our best routers buying guide offers advice and price comparison tools to help you make the right decision.

If youre also concerned that the FCCs ban means that your router poses a security threat, I again wouldnt panic as long as you have standard security measures (making sure you have a Wi-Fi password, secure admin password for
the router, and antivirus software). While the FCC ban targets consumer routers, the cyberattacks it cites are targeted at large institutions that
can (unfortunately) produce the most damage. A single router used by a family to access the internet isnt going to be as big a target.

Sure, this ban could lead to a boom in US-made routers, but that could take a long time to kick in as router makers shift product manufacturing, and due to a variety of factors, these routers will be more expensive.

So, my advice to people in the US considering a new router in the future is dont panic yet, but if youve been hesitating on upgrading your home Wi-Fi,
now might be the best time to pull that trigger. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/good-luck-americans-your-w i-fi-choices-are-about-to-get-worse-weve-tested-hundreds-of-routers-and-every- single-one-of-our-favorites-are-made-outside-of-the-us


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