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The US bans Huawei and ZTE from certifying wireless equipment only as shorthand: since November 25, 2022, FCC rules have barred new authorization for covered Huawei- and ZTE-produced telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment, while later rules target the eligibility of certification bodies and test labs. Existing lawful authorizations were not automatically recalled.
The headline compresses a sequence of measures rather than describing a standalone 2024 or 2026 ban. The FCC’s later equipment-authorization integrity rules address the institutions and ownership relationships behind the approval process, and those rules apply more broadly than Huawei and ZTE alone.
For manufacturers, the practical result is a two-part compliance question: whether the product or service is covered by the Huawei or ZTE prohibition, and whether the TCB, test laboratory, accreditation body, and ownership structure involved in authorization are eligible under the newer integrity rules.
Key takeaways
- The FCC’s November 25, 2022 order barred new authorization for covered Huawei- and ZTE-produced telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment.
- The 2022 prohibition closed all three relevant paths—Certification, Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity, and equipment-authorization exemption—for covered equipment.
- The 2022 rule did not automatically recall, confiscate, or shut down every Huawei or ZTE device that had already received lawful authorization.
- The FCC’s May 2024 proposal and May 2025 final integrity framework addressed the ownership, control, direction, and eligibility of TCBs and test laboratories, not just Huawei and ZTE products.
- As of the FCC’s June 4, 2026 Covered List update, Huawei and ZTE remained listed, and FCC materials reported that 23 foreign-adversary-controlled test laboratories were no longer recognized.
Why does the headline say the US bans Huawei and ZTE from certifying wireless equipment?
The headline is shorthand for two related but different FCC policies. The first policy, adopted on November 25, 2022, prohibited the FCC from granting new authorization to covered telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment produced or provided by Huawei, ZTE, and their covered subsidiaries or affiliates. The second policy tightened the security and independence requirements for the private certification bodies and test laboratories that participate in FCC equipment authorization.
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The technically precise description is that the FCC barred authorization of covered Huawei and ZTE equipment in 2022 and later tightened eligibility and oversight for the organizations that help authorize wireless devices. The policy is not a single 2024 or 2026 ban on every wireless product connected with China.
| Policy layer | Date and status | Primary target | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment-authorization prohibition | Final FCC order, November 25, 2022 | Covered Huawei- and ZTE-produced or provided telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment | The FCC cannot authorize covered equipment through Certification, Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity, or an exemption. |
| Certification-system proposal | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, May 2, 2024 | Telecommunications certification bodies, measurement facilities, laboratory-accreditation bodies, and risky ownership or control relationships | Proposed stronger eligibility, reporting, and independence requirements; a proposal alone was not the final framework. |
| Equipment-authorization integrity framework | Order adopted May 22, 2025; implementing rules published November 25, 2025 | Entities owned, controlled, or directed by specified prohibited entities, including entities connected with Covered List equipment or services and other federal security-related lists | Applicants must provide attestations and ownership disclosures, while TCBs review technical and nontechnical compliance issues. |
| Later implementation and oversight | FCC materials and Covered List update published in 2026 | Eligible laboratories and the broader communications supply chain | Huawei and ZTE remained on the Covered List, and 23 test laboratories identified as controlled or directed by a foreign adversary were no longer recognized. |
What did the FCC prohibit in 2022?
The FCC prohibited new or otherwise pending authorization of covered Huawei and ZTE telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment. The prohibition reached equipment produced or provided by Huawei or ZTE and included equipment associated with their subsidiaries and affiliates under the applicable Covered List language.
The FCC explained in its November 25, 2022 announcement that the order implemented the Secure Equipment Act of 2021. The underlying national-security determination came from Congress under section 889(f)(3) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, so the FCC did not need to perform a separate capability-by-capability security assessment of every Huawei or ZTE product.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe order was broader than rejecting applications submitted directly by Huawei or ZTE. Covered equipment could not receive authorization through the FCC’s ordinary Certification process, the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity process, or an exemption from equipment authorization. Changing the applicant, using a different paperwork route, or asking for an exemption was not a valid workaround for covered equipment.
What does the 2022 rule not mean?
The 2022 rule was principally a prohibition on new FCC authorization. The rule did not automatically revoke every authorization issued before the prohibition, require a nationwide recall, or order the immediate shutdown of every previously authorized Huawei or ZTE device. The FCC’s Report and Order discussed possible action against particular authorizations for false statements or other defined grounds, but a prior lawful authorization is a separate issue from a new-authorization ban.
The FCC also did not ban every wireless product made in China, every foreign-made device, or every product containing a Chinese component. The legal scope depends on the Covered List, the named entity, the equipment or service category, and applicable ownership or control relationships.
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- Easy to use; assistive listening system is very user-friendly; Retekess T130 series (T130 T130S T130P) receivers are all compatible with transmitters from other sets; you can mute the microphone with one click; you can also use the transmitter to turn off all receivers with one click
- Long working range; the upgraded distance of Retekess T130S tour guide system is up to 328ft/100m; designed for large school group or conference; Note: This system cannot achieve automatic translation and requires a translator to support multiple languages translation
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- Comfortable and hygienic; in order to better fit the headphone wearing habits of different users; the tour guide listening system adopts a non-in-ear D-type headphone design; this design allows you to wear it more comfortably whether you wear it with your left or right ear; the headphones can be cleaned by wiping them daily, which is very convenient
What is the FCC Covered List, and why are Huawei and ZTE included?
The FCC Covered List identifies communications equipment and services that the agency considers to pose unacceptable national-security or law-enforcement risks under the governing statutes. Huawei and ZTE equipment appeared on the initial list published on March 12, 2021, and the list continued to include their covered telecommunications equipment and related telecommunications or video-surveillance services in the FCC’s September 30, 2022 materials.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe FCC’s initial Covered List notice shows that the listing framework can extend beyond a company’s direct products to specified subsidiaries, affiliates, and services using the covered equipment. The 2022 authorization order then applied the prohibition to the covered Huawei and ZTE categories rather than limiting the rule to devices bearing only the parent company’s name.
Other companies also appear on the Covered List, including Hytera Communications, Hikvision, and Dahua. Those companies should not automatically be described as subject to exactly the same Huawei/ZTE authorization rule: their listings have historically included specified use-context limitations involving areas such as public safety, government facilities, critical infrastructure, and national-security-related surveillance.
The list is not static. In the FCC’s June 4, 2026 Covered List update, Huawei and ZTE remained listed, while later additions included foreign-produced routers subject to the conditions stated in the applicable listing. A Covered List change can therefore alter the compliance analysis for products and services beyond the companies named in the 2022 order.
How does FCC wireless equipment authorization work?
FCC equipment authorization is the regulatory process used for radio-frequency devices that must satisfy applicable technical requirements before they can be marketed or imported in the United States. Certification is one authorization route, not a synonym for the entire regulatory system.
Under the FCC program, a Telecommunications Certification Body, commonly called a TCB, is a private certification organization recognized to review applications and supporting technical information. Measurement facilities, commonly called test laboratories, generate or validate the measurements used in the authorization process. The FCC maintains program information for equipment-authorization grantees and TCB designating authorities.
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| Authorization route | Typical function | Effect of the 2022 covered-equipment rule |
|---|---|---|
| Certification | A TCB reviews an application and technical evidence for a device requiring certification. | Unavailable for covered Huawei and ZTE equipment. |
| Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity | A supplier makes the required conformity declaration for eligible equipment without using the same certification route. | Could not be used to authorize covered Huawei and ZTE equipment. |
| Equipment-authorization exemption | An applicable exemption removes the need for a standard authorization route in limited circumstances. | Could not be used as an alternative authorization route for covered Huawei and ZTE equipment. |
That distinction explains why saying Huawei and ZTE were merely stopped from submitting certification applications is incomplete. The FCC closed the available authorization routes for the covered equipment, not only one application channel.
What changed for certification bodies and test laboratories after 2022?
The later FCC action focused on the integrity of the institutions behind equipment authorization. In its May 2, 2024 proposal, the FCC considered restricting recognition or participation by TCBs, test laboratories, and laboratory-accreditation bodies that were owned or controlled by Covered List entities, foreign-adversary governments, or other entities presenting national-security concerns.
The 2024 proposal contemplated a 10% ownership-or-control threshold for the principal prohibition and reporting of interests at or above 5%. Those figures belonged to the proposed rulemaking and should not be presented as a universal current threshold without checking the final rule and the relevant entity’s circumstances. The FCC’s 2024 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also sought comment on how additional federal security-related lists and control relationships should be treated.
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What did the FCC’s 2025–2026 integrity rules add?
On May 22, 2025, the FCC adopted its First Equipment Authorization Integrity Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The adopted framework prohibited recognition or participation by entities owned, controlled, or directed by specified prohibited entities. The prohibited-entity concept extended beyond Huawei and ZTE to entities associated with Covered List equipment or services and entities appearing on several federal security-related lists.
The FCC’s 2025 Equipment Authorization Integrity Order therefore created a broader supply-chain and institutional-integrity program. A manufacturer that is not Huawei or ZTE can still face a compliance issue if the TCB, test laboratory, accreditation body, ownership structure, or control relationship involved in its application fails the applicable eligibility requirements.
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Implementing rules published in the Federal Register on November 25, 2025 required applicants to sign attestations that their equipment was not covered equipment and to provide additional disclosures concerning covered entities and ownership or control. The rules also assigned TCBs responsibility for reviewing technical and nontechnical compliance issues. The published implementing rule is the appropriate source for the operative filing and review requirements.
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The program had measurable effects beyond Huawei and ZTE. According to the FCC’s 2026 equipment-authorization integrity materials, the Office of Engineering and Technology determined that 23 test laboratories were owned, controlled, or subject to the direction of a foreign adversary and no longer recognized them. The 23-laboratory figure describes the broader foreign-adversary integrity action; it does not mean that all 23 laboratories were Huawei or ZTE laboratories.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What are the practical implications for manufacturers and importers?
Manufacturers and importers seeking U.S. authorization should treat covered-equipment analysis as an initial eligibility question, not as a final paperwork check. The technical performance of a device cannot cure a prohibition that applies because of the equipment’s producer, provider, covered service, or ownership relationship.
- Map the product and supply chain. Identify the producer, provider, subsidiaries, affiliates, relevant services, components, and ownership or control relationships that could bring the product within the Covered List rules.
- Determine the required authorization route. Do not assume that Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity or an exemption can avoid the 2022 prohibition. Covered Huawei and ZTE equipment is barred from all three relevant routes.
- Use an eligible TCB and measurement facility. Confirm that the organizations involved remain recognized and satisfy the current ownership, control, direction, reporting, and national-security requirements.
- Prepare the required attestations and disclosures. The 2025 implementing rules require signed statements about covered equipment and additional information about covered entities and ownership or control.
- Separate FCC authorization from procurement eligibility. A product may require analysis under federal procurement, subsidy, or supply-chain rules even when the immediate question is not whether the FCC can authorize it.
Overseas testing is not automatically prohibited merely because a laboratory is outside the United States. The relevant question can be whether the laboratory is recognized and eligible to participate under the FCC’s current integrity rules. A manufacturer should verify the laboratory’s status rather than treating geographic location alone as the deciding factor.
Does the rule affect existing Huawei or ZTE device owners?
For an existing device owner, the 2022 authorization prohibition does not by itself establish an automatic recall or nationwide shutdown of every Huawei or ZTE device that was lawfully authorized before November 25, 2022. The effect on a particular device can still depend on its authorization history, later FCC action, procurement rules, subsidy restrictions, security policies, and the owner’s context.
Consumers, businesses, and public agencies should distinguish three questions: whether the device previously received FCC authorization, whether the device may be purchased or used under a particular contract or government program, and whether the device presents an organization-specific security or procurement concern. Those questions do not have identical answers.
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How are procurement and federal subsidies different from FCC authorization?
Federal procurement and subsidy restrictions are separate from the FCC’s equipment-authorization prohibition. The FCC order addresses whether covered equipment can receive new authorization through the FCC equipment-authorization program, while other statutes and FCC or federal programs restrict government procurement or the use of federal subsidies for covered communications equipment and services.
The Congressional Research Service’s analysis describes the distinction between the authorization rules and other federal restrictions. The Universal Service Administrative Company’s supply-chain guidance is relevant when the question involves federal universal-service support rather than authorization of a device for the general U.S. market.
What is the accurate one-sentence explanation?
The FCC barred new authorization of covered Huawei and ZTE telecommunications and video-surveillance equipment on November 25, 2022, closed Certification, Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity, and exemption workarounds, and later tightened the eligibility and oversight of TCBs and test laboratories through a broader equipment-authorization integrity program.
That explanation is more accurate than saying the United States banned every Chinese wireless product or that the FCC found every Huawei and ZTE consumer device individually defective. The policy rests on statutory national-security determinations, Covered List obligations, and institutional eligibility rules rather than a product-by-product finding that every device has a demonstrated vulnerability.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: The US bans Huawei and ZTE from certifying wireless equipment is an imprecise but understandable shorthand. The binding 2022 action prohibited new FCC authorization for covered Huawei and ZTE equipment, while the later rules made the certification and testing infrastructure itself subject to broader national-security and supply-chain scrutiny.
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