Our Favorite Wi-Fi Routers Are Facing a Federal Ban. Here's Why

Are you looking to update your networking setup this holiday season? Unfortunately, you might soon have fewer router options in the US.

TP-Link has been under fire for at least a year, with US officials and lawmakers alleging that it poses a potential spying and hacking risk due to its ties to China. More recently, The Washington Post reported that several agencies—including the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense—backed the Commerce Department's proposed ban on TP-Link products, clearing the way for the Commerce Department to initiate the ban process.

If Commerce takes action, it will notify TP-Link, which will then have 30 days to respond. After that, the agency has 30 more days to consider any objections before making the ban official.

Commerce has also concluded that nothing short of a ban against TP-Link will suffice, citing the company’s ties to China as a national security threat, according to the Post, which spoke with unnamed sources briefed on the matter.

It’s unclear why the agency hasn’t moved further on the proposed ban. But it’s likely because the Trump administration has been holding trade talks with China; a deal was announced on Nov. 1.

A key concern among US officials is that the Chinese government could secretly compel TP-Link to assist in spying on or infiltrating American communications or companies. No direct evidence of such spying has ever been found or disclosed, which is why PCMag continues to recommend certain TP-Link products. Still, US officials argue that TP-Link's routers are insecure, which could enable hackers to easily compromise them and attack US networks.

However, TP-Link has dismissed the security concerns as unfounded and based on misinformation. Its US router sales are handled through TP-Link Systems in Irvine, California, which was spun off from its Chinese counterpart in 2022.

"As a US company, no foreign country or government—including China—has access to or control over the design and production of our products," TP-Link Systems told PCMag in May after a group of Republican lawmakers urged the Trump administration to enact a ban.

"To be clear, TP-Link is not a state-sponsored company, has no 'deep ties' to, and is completely independent from, the Chinese Communist Party," TP-Link added. "The allegation that bad actors from China used our routers for cyberattacks is misleading and disingenuous—routers made by many companies have been targets of attacks."

A similar battle is playing out in the US over the TikTok app.