Good news for owners of DJI drones, Autel drones and other foreign-made drones: the FCC has extended the deadline for foreign-made drones to continue receiving software and firmware updates from January 2027 to at least January 1, 2029.
The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology issued the extension on May 8, and it applies to all drones and drone components that were authorized for use in the United States before being added to the Covered List in December 2025. For drone owners, that means DJI drones that are legal to fly currently can also continue to receive security patches, bug fixes, and compatibility updates for at least two more years than previously expected.
What the original ban actually said about software updates
When the FCC added foreign-made drones to the Covered List in December 2025, the rules that followed created a problem that went beyond just blocking new drone sales. The revised FCC rules at 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and 2.1043(b) effectively prohibited even minor software and firmware updates (including security patches) for any device on the Covered List. That meant your existing DJI drone could have been cut off from updates entirely, potentially leaving it vulnerable to security exploits without any way to fix them.
In January 2026, the FCC issued a temporary waiver allowing existing drones to keep receiving updates until January 1, 2027. With this latest May 8 extension, that deadline pushes to January 1, 2029, and expands the scope of what’s permitted. (Previously, only so-called Class I permissive changes which are minor updates that don’t alter the core functionality of the device were allowed.)
The new waiver extends the permission to Class II permissive changes as well, which covers more substantial software improvements that still mitigate harm to consumers. Both classes now include security patches, vulnerability fixes, and compatibility updates.
Why this is good news
The FCC ban has largely been bad news for people who own drones. But this is a small piece of good news. After all, a drone that can’t receive firmware updates can be a security risk in the event that a security vulnerability is discovered but can’t be patched.
It was pretty ironic that certain politicians lobbied to ban DJI drones over security concerns, and the FCC ban made it so drones could fly but not get software updates that mitigate any potential security risks. At least we have a few more years of being able to update existing drones (and rules could continue to change and get extended by then). And it’s possible the extension becomes permanent policy rather than a series of rolling extensions. After all, the Office of Engineering and Technology noted it will “as soon as practicable, recommend to the full Commission that it consider codifying this waiver through a rulemaking.”
In the meantime, we’re still waiting to see how DJI’s ongoing FCC litigation resolves. It also offers more time for businesses to evaluate (and budget for) Blue UAS-compliant alternatives.
The Drone Advocacy Alliance (DAA), which has been one of the most active organizations opposing the ban and which coordinated a public comment campaign ahead of the May 11 deadline, issued a statement crediting the community response for helping move the needle.
“More than 3,000 of you spoke out, telling stories of how you use your drones and what a ban means for you — far more than almost any other similar FCC comment period received,” the DAA wrote. “When drone enthusiasts make our voices heard in large numbers like this, we can really make a difference.”
But while the DAA framed the extension as a partial win, it acknowledged that the broader fight continues.
“While there is still work to do, this is a big step and a win for drone users in the meantime, while the FCC decides whether to roll back other portions of its ban,” according to a prepared DAA statement.
That’s largely in reference to the core ban on new DJI and Autel products entering the U.S. market. With that (which was announced at the end of 2025), new drone models from foreign manufacturers still cannot be sold or authorized in the U.S. under the current Covered List rules. The extension only protects drones that were already authorized before December 22, 2025, which means drones that haven’t received FCC approval as of that deadline cannot be sold in the U.S.
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