Asus routers gain FCC's 'Conditional Approval' for sale in the US as TP-Link remains locked out — Asus's Wi-Fi 8 ambitions remain intact

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Upcoming Wi-Fi 8 products from Asus get the green light from the FCC

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

2026 has been a trying year for router manufacturers, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has subjected leading companies to strict oversight and outright bans. As an olive branch of sorts, the FCC has handed out "conditional approvals" to be included on the Covered List to companies that have jumped through all the necessary hoops to satisfy the commission's concerns. Asus is the latest company to secure that approval, which was confirmed in an FCC notice issued this week.

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Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
Senior Editor

Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.

10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Scott_Tx
    Make the source code open source, that should be step 1.
    Reply
  • thestryker
    Scott_Tx said:
    Make the source code open source, that should be step 1.
    If this whole mess was actually about security then maybe that would have been a requirement unfortunately it's not.
    Reply
  • RBBrittain
    Someone will need to sue the FCC because the "router ban" is illegal and unsupported by any evidence. If backdoors in existing routers justified it, why does it apply ONLY to new routers? And where's the evidence that U.S.-made routers (which don't exist) are any safer than foreign-made routers? This was nothing more than a backdoor TP-Link ban, because there was NO clear proof of improper Chinese connections to the present company, just insinuations based on hackers targeting its highly popular routers.
    Reply
  • wakuwaku
    Scott_Tx said:
    Make the source code open source, that should be step 1.
    Which Asus already does. You can download the source code for their router firmware from their website. Specific versions can be requested from them if you can't find the exact version you want.

    The parts that are closed source mostly, if not all, come from American suppliers. Broadcomm, Qualcomm, nVidia, Trend Micro etc. Whatever Asus made themselves are open source. Maybe ask them to open source their stuff first, then we talk.
    Reply
  • bill001g
    It is not routers I would worry about. You are now constantly seeing reports of various electronic devices having spying software from robot vacuums to tvs. Then again people are stupid they run out to buy the newest apple products even knowing apple is one of the worst offenders in collection of private data.

    There is a very long history of china networking companies putting backdoors into products. Huawei got caught "accidentally" leaving software active in their cell tower routers that collected information about every call going though the equipment and sent it back to china. Almost every product from huawei, even non cell phone related, has been banned in the USA and many EU countries for years .

    I suspect there is more to this that the FCC is not releasing. Even if a router was compromised almost all data is now encrypted by the end devices so I wonder what they are concerned about.
    Reply
  • rob24
    Actually, there is a US made router that everyone seems to be forgetting about and it's currently the only router made in the USA. Consumer or Enterprise. STARLINK. Made in Austin, TX and I have 2 of them. One at home and one in my 18 wheeler. However, at home I disabled the router function and purchased a different router because it lacks the security and it lacks Ethernet ports because its a version 2 router. I had to buy an adapter just to get an ethernet port. Unfortunately, its TP-Link and it looks like I'll have to buy a different router because the government has a mistrust of the manufacturer. Its Unfortunate because the router is a great piece of equipment and it was expensive when I bought it.
    Reply
  • checkbuzz
    bill001g said:
    It is not routers I would worry about. You are now constantly seeing reports of various electronic devices having spying software from robot vacuums to tvs. Then again people are stupid they run out to buy the newest apple products even knowing apple is one of the worst offenders in collection of private data.

    There is a very long history of china networking companies putting backdoors into products. Huawei got caught "accidentally" leaving software active in their cell tower routers that collected information about every call going though the equipment and sent it back to china. Almost every product from huawei, even non cell phone related, has been banned in the USA and many EU countries for years .

    I suspect there is more to this that the FCC is not releasing. Even if a router was compromised almost all data is now encrypted by the end devices so I wonder what they are concerned about.
    You're wrong, Huawei never got caught out doing any such thing and you cannot support your claim with any evidence. Much like the TP-Link router ban, this is simply about trying to maintain US tech dominance by old school protectionism, the last refuge of losers.
    Reply
  • checkbuzz
    rob24 said:
    Actually, there is a US made router that everyone seems to be forgetting about and it's currently the only router made in the USA. Consumer or Enterprise. STARLINK. Made in Austin, TX and I have 2 of them. One at home and one in my 18 wheeler. However, at home I disabled the router function and purchased a different router because it lacks the security and it lacks Ethernet ports because its a version 2 router. I had to buy an adapter just to get an ethernet port. Unfortunately, its TP-Link and it looks like I'll have to buy a different router because the government has a mistrust of the manufacturer. Its Unfortunate because the router is a great piece of equipment and it was expensive when I bought it.
    Oh what a strange and unexpected coincidence, Trumps largest donor and political ally also just happens to own the only US made router company, next minute all non US routers get banned with zero evidence to support the claims against them.
    What a simply astounding coincidence!
    Reply
  • txfeinbergs
    rob24 said:
    Actually, there is a US made router that everyone seems to be forgetting about and it's currently the only router made in the USA. Consumer or Enterprise. STARLINK. Made in Austin, TX and I have 2 of them. One at home and one in my 18 wheeler. However, at home I disabled the router function and purchased a different router because it lacks the security and it lacks Ethernet ports because its a version 2 router. I had to buy an adapter just to get an ethernet port. Unfortunately, its TP-Link and it looks like I'll have to buy a different router because the government has a mistrust of the manufacturer. Its Unfortunate because the router is a great piece of equipment and it was expensive when I bought it.
    I don't buy cars or routers from sycophants.
    Reply
  • Trailer98
    txfeinbergs said:
    I don't buy cars or routers from sycophants.
    Then what cars and routers do you purchase?
    Reply