TP-Link is striving for conditional approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for two types of Wi-Fi routers and has pledged to increase investment in manufacturing within the United States. However, this path is becoming increasingly difficult as it faces multiple lawsuits led by state governments, as well as opposition from nearly a dozen state attorneys general who are concerned about cybersecurity issues and the supplier's alleged connections with China.

As of now, five states—Florida, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas—have filed lawsuits against this router manufacturer, accusing it of misleading consumers regarding product security vulnerabilities, including alleged shortcomings in its built-in “HomeShield” service.

These lawsuits – including the complaint filed by Florida – also raise concerns regarding TP-Link's alleged "long-term and ongoing connections" with China. TP-Link states that all of its products currently sold in the United States are manufactured in Vietnam. The lawsuit from Florida argues that this claim is exaggerated, and cites a report by Bloomberg from April 2025 which stated: "TP-Link confirmed that, aside from purchasing components in Vietnam for a total value of 0.5% of the local factory's investment, all other components are imported from China."

TP-Link was established in 1996, with its headquarters initially located in Shenzhen, China. Later on, it set up dual headquarters in Singapore and Irvine, California. In 2024, the company relocated its global headquarters to California.

The concerns of the United States regarding TP-Link prompted FCC to take action in March, banning new consumer-grade routers manufactured abroad. The reason was concerns about network security, as well as a desire to promote more of such devices to be manufactured in the United States. This ban covers consumer-grade Wi-Fi routers, Wi-Fi extenders, broadband gateways, and even standalone modems, but it does not apply to enterprise-grade devices.

Since then, an increasing number of router manufacturers, industry organizations, and broadband service providers have submitted for, and in some cases obtained, conditional approvals or accelerated exemptions. These approvals typically have a validity period of one year (a list is provided at the end of the text).

Accelerated exemptions are typically granted for routers that have previously been approved under FCC, but require re-examination due to minor hardware changes (such as the addition of new components, including memory, or the replacement of components that are about to be discontinued). Conditional approval usually applies to new router products, as well as Wi-Fi extenders that have not previously gone through the FCC certification process.

People familiar with the process in the industry say that the time required to complete this procedure varies, but it usually takes about eight weeks.

A few months ago, TP-Link submitted an application for conditional approval, which involved two models of Wi-Fi routers. The company plans to launch these products globally later this year (the previously approved devices are still available for sale in the United States under TP-Link). In August, TP-Link released a series of consumer-grade Wi-Fi 8 products, including mesh networking systems, travel routers, extenders, and adapters, with plans to bring them to market in 2027.

Although all the details of the approval of the application conditions for TP-Link have not been made public, the company disclosed in a document submitted to FCC on October 13 that its application also commits to investing nearly $1 billion in research and development and manufacturing capabilities in the United States. This will create "hundreds" of jobs in the U.S. and continue to expand on its existing workforce of over 700 American employees.

As part of this localization plan, TP-Link also stated that they will begin assembling these new Wi-Fi routers in the United States at some point in 2027.

TP-Link pointed out that it submitted this document in response to a letter dated October 7th, signed by 21 state attorneys general and sent to FCC chairperson, as well as members Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty. The letter highlighted many concerns raised in the state-level litigation.

TP-Link indicates that the submitted documents are intended to 'correct public records', and it claims that the company is being subjected to an unfair standard that does not apply to its competitors.

TP-Link stated, 'Many of the allegations made by 21 state officials are not related to the information required in the conditional approval applications.' The company also stated that it will not and does not share customer network data with foreign governments or unauthorized third parties. 'It is important to clarify that the allegations made in this letter are unfounded; since 4 of these 21 officials have already filed lawsuits, TP-Link looks forward to refuting these claims in court.'

About a week before the release of this FCC file, TP-Link just responded to the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of the state, stating that it is an “independent American company, not owned or controlled by any foreign government,” and that it complies with U.S. privacy and data protection laws.

TP-Link Corporate Affairs Officer Steve Kovsky stated in a statement: "These coordinated lawsuits are based on erroneous premises. They are of no help to national security, yet they unfairly punish a leading American company in the industry."

According to the data from FCC and the research from Light Reading, the following are the companies and organizations that have been approved or are currently applying for conditional approval and/or accelerated exemptions, along with the current status of these requests:

• ACA Connects / NTCA: The accelerated exemption joint application has been approved, with validity until September 29, 2027.
• Actiontec Electronics: Application for acceleration exemption has been submitted, awaiting approval.
• Adtran: Conditional approval for routers at the Service Delivery Gateway level has been granted, valid until October 1, 2027.
• Alpha Networks: The conditional approvals for the 1700 and 2700 series routers have been granted, with validity until November 22, 2027.
• Arcadyan Technology: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until June 26, 2027.
• Arcadyan Technology: Conditions for the approval of several CPE for T-Mobile, AT &T, and Verizon have been approved, with validity until December 12, 2027.
• Askey Computer Corp.: The acceleration exemption has been approved, and it is valid until September 16, 2027.
• The conditional approvals for Askey Computer Corp, ASK-NCM1100, ASK-NCM1100E, ASK-NMC300, and ASK-NCQ8000 (8 gateways in total) have been granted, with the validity period extending until February 3, 2028.
• Asus: Conditions for approval of multiple routers, extenders, and access points have been granted (RT Router Series, ROG GT Series, ROG Strix GS Series, TUF Gaming Series, ExpertWiFi Series, ZenWiFi Mesh Series, 5G MiFi Series), valid until March 6, 2028.
• AT &T: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until May 15, 2027.
• Calix: The conditional approvals for several broadband routers have been granted, including GigaSpire level routers (7u6m.2, 7u4txg, 7u4, 7u6.2) as well as GigaPro 7p6, all of which are valid until November 22, 2027.
• Comtrend: Conditional approvals have been granted for several wireless router models (GRG-4366u, VG-8043u, PBL-6201, and NL-3131), valid until March 6, 2028.
• CTIA: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until September 23, 2027.
• eero / Amazon: The conditional approval for several eero devices and Amazon Leo routers has been granted, with validity until October 31, 2027.
• Gemtek: The conditional approvals for routers WRTQ-411BE and WNRFQQ-113BE have been granted, with validity until January 3, 2028.
• Gryphon Online Safety: Parental control. The conditional approval for the Wi-Fi router has been granted, valid until January 10, 2028.
• Hitron: The conditional approvals for a set of DOCSIS 4.0, DOCSIS 3.1, and FWA devices have been granted, including gateways, routers, and hotspots.
• Humax Networks: HNR2306 and HNRM30 Wi - Fi routers, the conditional approval is valid until January 17, 2028.
• Miri Technologies : The conditional approval for the Miri X10 travel router has been granted, valid until December 12, 2027.
• NCTA: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until June 9, 2027.
• NCTA: Applying for an accelerated exemption with a broader scope than the version approved in June 2027, awaiting approval.
• Netgear: Approval has been granted for several “Nighthawk” networked, mobile, and independent routers, with the validity period extending until October 1, 2027.
• Nokia: Conditional approvals have been granted for multiple wireless routers and the " Beacon " router, with the validity period extending until October 31, 2027.
• Sagemcom: The conditional approval for several FAST brand routers has been granted ( FAST3994, FAST3897, FAST5698, FAST5699, and FAST5999 ), which includes a new DOCSIS 4.0 device, valid until December 5, 2027.
• Sercomm: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until June 9, 2027.
• Sercomm: The conditional approval for the Air4992 Wi - Fi router has been granted, with validity until January 10, 2028.
• SpaceX: Starlink Router (model not disclosed), valid until February 1, 2028.
• TP - Link Systems: Approval has been granted for the application of two Wi-Fi routers, with a commitment to invest nearly $1 billion in research and development as well as manufacturing capabilities in the United States; the application is still under review.
• USTelecom: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until September 23, 2027.
• Vantiva : The conditional approval for CWA438TX (supporting VoIP DOCSIS 3.1+ modems) has been granted, with validity until January 8, 2028.
• Vantiva: Submitted an application for accelerated exemption on July 29, 2026, and it is still under consideration.
• Vantiva: On August 17, 2026, an acceleration exemption application was submitted for the BGW620 gateway deployed with AT &T, and it is still under review.
• Vantiva: On August 17, 2026, an application for acceleration exemption for the BGW620 gateway deployed with AT &T was submitted again, and it is still under review.
• Verizon: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until June 26, 2027.
• Vivid-Hosting: The conditional approval for the company's entire router product category has been granted, including its VH-109 ( V1 ) and VH-109 ( V2 ) robot wireless circuit routers, with the validity period extending until March 28, 2028.
• WNC: The acceleration exemption has been approved, valid until September 16, 2027.
• WNC: The conditional approvals for the router models LVR5A, LVM9, and LV85C Wi to Fi have been granted, with validity until February 21, 2028.
• Zyxel Communications: The conditional approvals for EE4210-00, EE6610-00, and 5GNR (NR5331) routers have been granted, with validity until February 3, 2028.