Excellent news for house owners of DJI drones, Autel drones and different foreign-made drones: the FCC has prolonged the deadline for foreign-made drones to proceed receiving software program and firmware updates from January 2027 to at the least January 1, 2029.
The FCC’s Workplace of Engineering and Know-how issued the extension on Might 8, and it applies to all drones and drone elements that had been licensed to be used in the USA earlier than being added to the Coated Record in December 2025. For drone house owners, meaning DJI drones which might be authorized to fly at present also can proceed to obtain safety patches, bug fixes, and compatibility updates for at the least two extra years than beforehand anticipated.
What the unique ban truly mentioned about software program updates
When the FCC added foreign-made drones to the Coated Record in December 2025, the foundations that adopted created an issue that went past simply blocking new drone gross sales. The revised FCC guidelines at 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and a pair of.1043(b) successfully prohibited even minor software program and firmware updates (together with safety patches) for any gadget on the Coated Record. That meant your current DJI drone might have been reduce off from updates fully, probably leaving it weak to safety exploits with none method to repair them.
In January 2026, the FCC issued a short lived waiver permitting current drones to maintain receiving updates till January 1, 2027. With this newest Might 8 extension, that deadline pushes to January 1, 2029, and expands the scope of what’s permitted. (Beforehand, solely so-called Class I permissive adjustments that are minor updates that don’t alter the core performance of the gadget had been allowed.)
The brand new waiver extends the permission to Class II permissive adjustments as properly, which covers extra substantial software program enhancements that also mitigate hurt to customers. Each courses now embrace safety patches, vulnerability fixes, and compatibility updates.
Why that is excellent news
The FCC ban has largely been unhealthy information for individuals who personal drones. However this can be a small piece of excellent information. In spite of everything, a drone that may’t obtain firmware updates could be a safety threat within the occasion {that a} safety vulnerability is found however can’t be patched.
It was fairly ironic that sure politicians lobbied to ban DJI drones over safety considerations, and the FCC ban made it so drones might fly however not get software program updates that mitigate any potential safety dangers. No less than we now have a number of extra years of having the ability to replace current drones (and guidelines might proceed to alter and get prolonged by then). And it’s potential the extension turns into everlasting coverage reasonably than a sequence of rolling extensions. In spite of everything, the Workplace of Engineering and Know-how famous it would “as quickly as practicable, advocate to the complete Fee that it contemplate codifying this waiver by means of a rulemaking.”
Within the meantime, we’re nonetheless ready to see how DJI’s ongoing FCC litigation resolves. It additionally gives extra time for companies to guage (and funds for) Blue UAS-compliant alternate options.
The Drone Advocacy Alliance (DAA), which has been one of the lively organizations opposing the ban and which coordinated a public remark marketing campaign forward of the Might 11 deadline, issued a press release crediting the neighborhood response for serving to transfer the needle.
“Greater than 3,000 of you spoke out, telling tales of how you utilize your drones and what a ban means for you — way over virtually some other related FCC remark interval obtained,” the DAA wrote. “When drone fanatics make our voices heard in massive numbers like this, we are able to actually make a distinction.”
However whereas the DAA framed the extension as a partial win, it acknowledged that the broader battle continues.
“Whereas there’s nonetheless work to do, this can be a massive step and a win for drone customers within the meantime, whereas the FCC decides whether or not to roll again different parts of its ban,” based on a ready DAA assertion.
That’s largely in reference to the core ban on new DJI and Autel merchandise getting into the U.S. market. With that (which was introduced on the finish of 2025), new drone fashions from international producers nonetheless can’t be bought or licensed within the U.S. beneath the present Coated Record guidelines. The extension solely protects drones that had been already licensed earlier than December 22, 2025, which suggests drones that haven’t obtained FCC approval as of that deadline can’t be bought within the U.S.
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