(Credit: TP-Link)
TP-Link is ready to start selling Wi-Fi 8 routers, but don’t expect them to arrive stateside just yet. The company is sidestepping the US market amid a White House ban on foreign-made routers.
On Wednesday, TP-Link opened preorders for its first Wi-Fi 8 product, the Archer 8 Ultra, which is designed to deliver speeds up to 19Gbps and robust wireless coverage via 18 antennas.
The company published a launch video noting that its headquarters are now in Irvine, California, after it split from its Chinese business in 2024. However, early sales of the Archer 8 Ultra are available only to customers in Canada, the UK, Australia, and Germany. Despite its position as a market leader in the US, the country is missing from the list, likely because TP-Link Wi-Fi routers are manufactured in Vietnam.
Alluding to the router ban, TP-Link told PCMag it "complies with standards and regulations everywhere we do business." Even so, the vendor added: "As a US-based company, we're particularly excited to bring our next-gen Wi-Fi 8 portfolio to American consumers, delivering the reliability and network stability they can rely on. We’re working with regulators to bring these products to users worldwide, so keep an eye on our website for more updates."
In March, the Trump administration shocked the industry by banning foreign-made routers, citing the threat of foreign entities tampering with them to spy and carry out cyberattacks. Although TP-Link can still sell existing products in the US, it’s been blocked from selling new models, stymying its plans to launch Wi-Fi 8 routers and a whole lineup of other products scheduled to arrive next year.
That said, the Federal Communications Commission has been issuing temporary waivers to the ban for vendors, including US-based Netgear, Amazon’s Eero, and most recently, Taiwanese PC maker Asus. But so far, no such exemption has been granted to TP-Link, which US officials have long claimed has links to the Chinese government, allegations that the company denies.
Back in April, TP-Link told the FCC that it planned to invest “hundreds of millions of dollars” to bring its product manufacturing to the US so it could comply with the foreign-made router ban. However, the company also said it would need a temporary exemption to the ban “to complete those investments.”
TP-Link has also been stressing that it’s become a US company that “no longer has any affiliation with TP-LINK Technologies Co,” the Chinese counterpart. Still, the FCC has so far refrained from granting any exemption to the foreign-made router ban to any Chinese vendor, which doesn’t bode well for TP-Link. At its monthly meeting this morning, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr also defended the US ban on both foreign-made routers and drones, saying the policy has encouraged domestic investment in manufacturing.
In the meantime, it looks like TP-Link is hopeful it’ll be able to sell the Archer 8 Ultra in the US one day. The vendor created a dedicated US web page for the product, which includes an email sign-up for availability notifications. But the device isn’t cheap. In Germany, TP-Link is selling it for €799.90 or $905.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from TP-Link.
About Our Expert
I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.
Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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