USA: FCC Covered List Waiver for Robots & Inverters

USA: FCC Covered List Waiver Keeps Robotic Devices and Power Inverters Updateable

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has moved to prevent a hard stop on software and firmware maintenance for two newly restricted device categories. On July 28, 2026, the same day the agency added foreign produced advanced robotic devices and foreign produced power inverters to its Covered List, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) issued a Public Notice (DA 26-789) waiving certain prohibitions that would otherwise have blocked routine security updates to devices already authorized for the U.S. market.

Without this relief, previously certified robots and inverters would have been frozen out of even basic patching, because equipment on the Covered List is generally barred from the permissive change procedures that allow authorized products to be modified.

Regulatory context

The Covered List is the FCC's roster of communications equipment and services determined to pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security, established under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. On July 28, 2026, the FCC added two broad new categories: foreign produced power inverters (excepting those granted a Conditional Approval by the Department of War (DoW) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)) and foreign produced advanced robotic devices (excepting those granted a Conditional Approval by DoW). These additions followed National Security Determinations issued on July 27, 2026, by a White House convened executive branch interagency body. "Foreign produced" tracks the "domestic end product" definition at 48 CFR § 25.101(a), so the restriction turns on where and how a device is produced rather than the nationality of the manufacturer.

The friction the waiver resolves stems from a rule change adopted October 28, 2025 and effective December 2025. Revisions to 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and 2.1043(b) excluded Covered List equipment from the permissive change process. Class I permissive changes generally require no filing with the Commission and routinely include software, firmware, and security updates; Class II permissive changes require Commission acknowledgement. Once robots and inverters landed on the Covered List, applying those revised rules would have prohibited both classes of permissive change even for units authorized before the July 28 addition, effectively cutting off consumer protective updates.

How the FCC Covered List waiver works

Acting under delegated authority, OET waived the Class I and Class II permissive change prohibitions in 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and 2.1043(b) for software and firmware updates that mitigate harm to U.S. consumers, for Covered Power Inverters and Covered Advanced Robotic Devices authorized before the July 28, 2026 Covered List addition. Qualifying updates include those that patch vulnerabilities and preserve device functionality, such as maintaining compatibility with different operating systems. The relief runs through at least January 1, 2029.

The waiver mirrors OET's earlier interventions for other Covered List categories: a January 21, 2026 waiver for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), a March 23, 2026 waiver for routers, and a May 8, 2026 order that extended both to at least January 1, 2029 and expanded them to cover Class II permissive changes. OET found the same public interest concerns about safe operation of already deployed devices apply to inverters and robots.

What this means for manufacturers

The waiver is narrow relief, not a reopening of the U.S. market. Three boundaries matter most:

• It is limited to already authorized devices. Only robotic devices and power inverters that received FCC equipment authorization before July 28, 2026 qualify. New foreign produced models remain ineligible for authorization and generally cannot be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States absent a Conditional Approval. Grandfathered status should be confirmed at the specific model and FCC ID level; a product built or stocked before July 28 but not authorized before that date does not qualify.

• It is limited to consumer protective software and firmware updates. The waiver covers updates that mitigate consumer harm or preserve functionality vulnerability patches and OS compatibility fixes. It does not permit changes that would alter a device's authorized RF characteristics beyond what the permissive change framework allows, and it does not create any new pathway for hardware changes.

• It is time limited. The relief runs "through at least January 1, 2029." Manufacturers should treat that as a review horizon rather than a guarantee, and plan supply chain and compliance strategy including whether to pursue Conditional Approval or a domestic production route well ahead of it.

  
  

Critically, the waiver does not switch off the rest of the rulebook. Grantees relying on it must still meet all other applicable FCC requirements. For Class II permissive changes, that includes filing complete information and test results, meeting the minimum performance requirements of the applicable rules, refraining from marketing modified equipment before the Commission acknowledges the Class II change is acceptable, and certifying whether the device is prohibited from authorization as covered equipment.

The waiver and the Conditional Approval process serve different functions. The waiver keeps existing devices maintainable; Conditional Approval (sought via DoW/DHS review) is the route to keep placing new covered devices on the U.S. market. Companies pursuing continued market access will typically need the latter, not the former.

Certification impact summary

Aspect	Impact
Instrument	OET Public Notice DA 26-789, ET Docket No. 21-232, released July 28, 2026
Legal basis waived	Permissive-change prohibitions in 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and 2.1043(b)
Who benefits	Grantees of Covered Power Inverters and Covered Advanced Robotic Devices authorized before July 28, 2026
What is permitted	Class I and Class II software/firmware updates that mitigate consumer harm (vulnerability patches, OS-compatibility, continued functionality)
What is NOT permitted	Authorization of new foreign-produced models; hardware changes; any relief from other FCC rules
Duration	Through at least January 1, 2029
Obligations that remain	Class II filing of complete info + test results; minimum performance compliance; no marketing before Commission acknowledgement; certification of covered equipment status
Alternative for new models	Conditional Approval via DoW/DHS review

Timeline and required actions

Date	Event / Action
Oct 28, 2025	FCC adopts revisions to 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b), 2.1043(b) excluding Covered List equipment from permissive changes
Dec 2025	Rule revisions take effect; foreign produced UAS added to Covered List (Dec 22, 2025)
Jan 21, 2026	OET waiver for UAS and UAS critical components (DA 26-69)
Mar 23, 2026	Foreign-produced routers added to Covered List; OET routers waiver (DA 26-286)
May 8, 2026	OET extends UAS/routers relief to at least Jan 1, 2029 and adds Class II changes (DA 26-454)
Jul 27, 2026	Executive branch National Security Determinations on inverters and robots
Jul 28, 2026	Power inverters and advanced robotic devices added to Covered List; OET waiver DA 26-789 issued
Through Jan 1, 2029	Waiver relief window for qualifying software/firmware updates

Recommended manufacturer actions:

1. Inventory and confirm grandfathered status for every affected robot and inverter at the FCC ID / model level; do not assume pre July 28 production equals authorization.

2. Map planned updates against the waiver's scope confirm they qualify as consumer harm mitigating software/firmware changes, and continue meeting Class II filing and acknowledgement steps where applicable.

3. Assess new model pathways for any product not already authorized: evaluate Conditional Approval (DoW/DHS) or a "domestic end product" production strategy.

4. Diarize the January 1, 2029 horizon and monitor for FCC staff guidance to Telecommunications Certification Bodies, test labs, and applicants that may refine or extend the relief.