If you have a foreign-made drone or router that has been banned by the Federal Communications Commission, you may be able to find some other use for it for the next few years. The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) posted an announcement on May 8 stating that affected routers and drones would be able to receive “software and firmware updates that minimize harm to US consumers” by January 1, 2029. The latest notice extends the update deadline by almost two years from the initial cut-off.
The FCC added “uncrewed aircraft systems,” known as drones, and drone components to its covered list of communications devices and services in December 2025. A few months later, the federal agency added routers manufactured outside the US to the list, but allowed an exception that affected routers would receive updates until at least March 1, 2027. As with the FCC’s latest notice, OET argued in favor of extending the update deadline, saying that “special circumstances require it. Deviations from the general rules and the public interest would be better served by expanding the exemption to the prohibitions.”
The extension may be partly due to lobbying by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), as the trade organization suggested extending updates and patches for already authorized devices “by just over a year” in a letter to the FCC. CTA also requested “further clarification” on the scope of products affected by the ban and greater collaboration with the National Security Council and the Department of Defense to provide greater transparency and guidance to companies manufacturing affected products.
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