Foreign gadget bans: all the news about the FCC’s clampdown on Chinese tech – The Verge

Will TP-Link really make routers in the US? Here’s what it told us

2026-10-21T13:54:56-04:00

A TP-Link Wi-Fi 8 router. | Image: TP-Link

TP-Link, one of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer Wi-Fi routers, is in a precarious position in the US. The company just launched its first Wi-Fi 8 routers, but can't bring them here because of President Donald Trump's foreign router ban. Even though competitors Netgear and Asus make their routers in Asia, they've mysteriously obtained blanket waivers for all their new gear; perhaps because of alleged ties to China, TP-Link hasn't managed to get such a waiver yet.

But TP-Link is willing to do something those companies weren't - to invest nearly $1 billion to make routers in the United States, creating "hundreds of high-paying re …

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The Matic is the first robovac to get an FCC ban waiver, not that it needs it

2026-10-06T14:43:05-04:00

The Matic is our favorite robot vacuum and robo-mop, and it's also now the first to escape the FCC's Roomba ban.

Well, sort of - because the Matic wasn't banned to begin with.

Here's what's actually happening: On October 2nd, the FCC added the original Matic, model 4MA0001, and its charging dock model 4DK0008 to its ban waiver list. That allows the FCC to approve these radio products for import, marketing, and sale.

But the Matic doesn't need a waiver, because its radios were already approved years ago. The FCC's foreign drone, robot, and router bans only keep future products from getting imported into the United States, not existing o …

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Asus won’t say how it escaped the US router ban

2026-09-30T12:44:20-04:00

This spring, the United States banned all future foreign-made consumer routers - effectively all future routers - unless their makers could 1) convince the US government that they weren't a national security threat, and 2) submit "a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States."

As of September 9th, Asus now has an exemption from the ban, just in time to bring its first early Wi-Fi 8 routers here. But Asus has not publicly announced any plan to bring manufacturing to the US. It would not even confirm to The Verge whether it had submitted a US manufacturing plan.

Initially, Asus spokesperson JJ Guerre …

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HoverAir’s transforming modular drone has already been halted in the US

2026-08-24T16:43:18-04:00

The HoverAir Versa. | Image: HoverAir

I am so sorry, fellow US gadget fans: the FCC's drone ban appears to have struck again. The HoverAir Versa - a baby steadycam with snap-on propeller wings that transform it into a drone - has already stopped taking US orders just three days after its Indiegogo debut, and may be forced to abandon shipping plans in the US.

HoverAir is now telling backers it's only shipping its camera to the US, not the piece that turns it into a drone, "due to a few remaining logistics updates with the Flight Kit." But those "logistics" may actually be a euphemism for "we've been banned by the federal government." The FCC's database no longer has an entry for …

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I bought DJI’s banned camera — it was cheap and easy

2026-08-20T12:35:01-04:00

As a kid, I always imagined the "black market" would be like the movies: Shady vendors hawking illicit goods along dusty streets. But if you want a banned DJI Osmo Pocket 4 or Pocket 4 Pro camera in the US, you can just reach for your phone.

They're on Temu, AliExpress, eBay, Mercari - even Amazon and Newegg - with fast, free shipping and no risk of tariffs or seizures. That's because these cameras are already inside the United States, despite rules that ban them from entering the country.

This past month, I ordered a DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Pro from Temu. It arrived just four days later, shipped directly from a fulfillment center in Oregon, whe …

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Does giving a camera wings dodge the FCC’s drone ban?

2026-08-19T19:52:12-04:00

It’s a camera. It’s a drone. But HoverAir doesn’t want it to be a drone where the FCC is concerned. | Image: HoverAir

HoverAir drones always have intriguing gimmicks. This one folds flat to fit in your pocket. This one can land on water. Another can charge inside its carrying case. But the brand's latest trick might be its riskiest: it's attempting to sneak a drone past the FCC.

In December 2025, the US government banned future foreign drones from reaching our shores, and HoverAir's floating Aqua drone was one of the first casualties. But this time, brand owner Zero Zero Robotics might have found a loophole: its latest $750 Versa drone isn't a drone, it claims, but rather a DJI Pocket-style mini steadycam with optional snap-on propellers that let it fly.

…

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The ban on robot vacuums won’t make them safer, only worse

2026-07-31T14:40:33-04:00

All future robot vacuums manufactured outside the USA (i.e., all of them) have been banned by the FCC. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

No other gadget knows as much about your home as a robot vacuum. They map your space, learn your routines, and many now carry a camera and microphone into every room in your house. As AI gives them a better understanding of what they see, the privacy and security risks these autonomous robots pose are only growing.

That's why greater scrutiny makes sense, but the ban on foreign-made mobile robots issued by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this week - implemented to address "unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of United States persons" - doesn't actually judge products by h …

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The US government just banned Roombas

2026-10-06T13:36:58-04:00

When the Trump administration announced yesterday that it was banning "advanced robotic devices" from entering the United States, the headlines were all about humanoids. But spying doesn't require legs - and neither does the FCC's robot ban.

The robot ban will sweep up robot vacuum cleaners too, FCC media relations director Katie Gorscak confirms to The Verge.

It's not coming for your existing Roomba, and companies can keep importing and selling already approved ones. But the government claims that future foreign robots pose a national security risk, and even robovac companies are suddenly being asked to commit to US manufacturing.

Whi …

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DJI camera clone company Xtra is halting and refunding all preorders

2026-07-24T14:33:27-04:00

The Xtra Muse 2 Pro. | Image; Xtra

After selling a barely disguised version of the hit DJI Osmo Pocket 3 in the United States last year, Xtra Technology seemed ready to sneak in its version of the new dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4 Pro, too. But today, Xtra has abruptly removed the new Xtra Muse 2 Pro from its website landing page, is pausing preorders indefinitely, and says it'll refund all the $20 deposits that it's already collected.

Just days after showing off the camera at a Los Angeles launch event, the company is no longer necessarily committing to launch at all: "XTRA has not made a final announcement regarding future product availability. We have not announced a new produc …

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Whack-a-drone

2026-07-27T09:47:57-04:00

In Pasadena, California, there's a cute red brick courtyard where one storefront isn't like the rest. The glass doors open onto a sparse industrial hallway, which leads to a sunlit foyer with a large spiral staircase. Go up, and you'll see a typical coworking space: open tables, healthy snacks, a collection of meeting rooms with glass walls. Follow one hallway most of the way back, and you'll find Office 18.

There are no signs of life in this tiny private office that's supposed to be the headquarters of Odyssey Robot, an upstart US drone company. We saw three small desks and chairs, but no power strips, no monitors, no keyboards or chargers …

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