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FCC notice: Starlink routers get a conditional approval under the foreign-router rule, through 2028-02-01
An FCC notice on 2026-07-27 said Starlink routers have a conditional approval exempting them from the Covered List rule on foreign-made routers, valid through 2028-02-01.
- Announced or first reported
- Effective
- Published
- Last updated
What changed
Light Reading reported on 2026-07-28 that an FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau notice (DA 26-775), posted 2026-07-27, granted conditional approval to SpaceX’s Starlink routers, valid through 2028-02-01. The approval follows a Department of War finding that the devices don’t pose an unacceptable national security risk. Broadband Breakfast reported the same notice on 2026-07-29 and dated it 2026-07-28.
The approval matters because of the FCC’s 2026-03-23 rule that puts new foreign-made consumer routers on its Covered List. Light Reading notes that Starlink’s Router 3 and Router Mini have been reported as made in Vietnam. Light Reading also says “the notice did not specify how many or which specific router models were granted that status.”
| Item | Before | After | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink routers under the foreign-made router rule | No conditional approval reported | Conditional approval from the Department of War, valid through 2028-02-01 | 2026-07-27 |
Who it affects
Starlink customers and anyone planning to add a Starlink router or mesh node, including in a barn on a wired backhaul. Routers already in use were never affected by the rule.
What it means for your setup
Starlink routers can keep getting new FCC approvals through 2028-02-01, so mesh nodes and future models such as Router 4 shouldn’t be held up by this rule in that window. Nothing changes for how you set up the barn. Starlink routers mesh only with Starlink nodes, and a node in an outbuilding works best fed by a cable or a bridge, not by Wi-Fi across the yard. See why mesh fails between buildings.
For background on the rule itself, see our post on the 2026-03-23 Covered List change.
What to do now
- Nothing to do for routers you already have.
- If you plan to add a Starlink mesh node to a barn, plan the wired or bridged backhaul first.
What stays the same
- Starlink routers already in use.
- Starlink routers mesh only with Starlink mesh nodes, per Starlink’s spec sheet.
What we don’t know yet
- Which Starlink router models the approval covers. The notice didn’t list them, per Light Reading.
- What happens after 2028-02-01.
- We couldn’t reach fcc.gov to read DA 26-775 ourselves.
Sources
- FCC exempts new Starlink devices from router ban, Light Reading. Source date: 2026-07-28. Secondary. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
“the notice did not specify how many or which specific router models were granted that status”
- Starlink Routers Receive Conditional Exemption From FCC’s Covered List, Broadband Breakfast. Source date: 2026-07-29. Secondary. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
Corrections
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