Apple's Mystery 'Network Adapter' Found in FCC Filing Likely for Internal Use Only

Apple earlier this year sent a "Network Adapter" to the FCC for approval, an unearthed filing has revealed, although suggestions that it could be an AirPort successor or other unannounced networking product for consumer use are likely wide of the mark.

airport roundup

Consumer networking products from Apple's discontinued AirPort range

Whenever a company designs a device for use in the United States that uses radio frequencies like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, it must get FCC regulatory approval. According to documents shared by the FCC, Apple sent a "Network Adapter" with the model number A2657 to the agency on January 22, with the following description.

A2657 is a network adapter. It has an integral battery, two gigabit ethernet ports, USB-C connector and antenna. The device supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n radio, Bluetooth radio, and NFC. The network adapter comes with 32 GB memory storage and 1.5 GB RAM.

The device is intended to be connected to a host computer and receive its power through a USB-A port during normal use.

The documents suggest that the device runs "19F47" firmware, which matches an early internal version of iOS 15.5, suggesting it is powered by Apple silicon. The FCC tested the device by connecting it to an iMac, but other than that, no other details are given, and Apple has requested a non-disclosure agreement that runs until November 2022.

The filing doesn't include any images of the device either, but there are some telltale signs in the description that it is unlikely to relate to a forthcoming consumer product.

For one, the device appears to lack support for the 802.11ac wireless networking standard. Also known as Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac was announced in 2014 and has been superseded by Wi-Fi 6, which is already supported in newer iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

Secondly, the device only uses the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, whereas most modern commercial routers and consumer Apple devices support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, with the 5GHz spectrum usually offering the best performance. For example, the discontinued sixth-generation AirPort Extreme base station operated on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands.

Lastly, the device is "intended to receive its power through a USB-A port during normal use." Apple has replaced USB-A with USB-C connectivity on all of its MacBooks and iMacs, and the idea that it would launch a consumer device with a legacy port as a primary connector is unrealistic.

Apple officially ended development on its AirPort line of products in 2018, and the company has since sold third-party routers. Apple has many FCC-certified devices that are solely intended for internal use, and this filing very likely relates to another device that falls into that category.

(Via 9to5Mac.)

Tag: FCC

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...

Top Rated Comments

MakeAppleAwesomeAgain Avatar
37 months ago
I'm still rocking two AirPort Extremes from 2013, and I won't be replacing them with another brand for a long time. The wireless signal is strong enough for my needs, and when one of them dies, I will replace them with a second-hand. I've had experiences with almost every wireless router brand, and this model is the most stable router I've ever used. I never had to reboot it.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
37 months ago
It would be great to have Apple get back into making routers again

I was using the last version of the Airport Extreme up until last year when I replaced my 2 Airport Extremes with 3 eeros

I chose to replace my two Airport Extremes that I had with eeros because I wanted to have Apple’s HomeKit compatibility - Trying to buy all of my home accessories so that they are HomeKit compatible

MacRumors had a post on Friday that mentioned that Apple might release a new version of the HomePod either this year or in early 2023 so an Apple router would be a great addition to that especially if features like AirPlay work better over an Apple mesh Wi-Fi setup
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marie.D Avatar
37 months ago
I really hope they come back to this market with an offering. I’d love for a good and simple router with HomeKit router and Time Machine baked in.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AirunJae Avatar
37 months ago
Seems like a good amount of MacRumors readers would like Apple to get back into the router market, and I too would like that. I think they could definitely have one be differentiated from a privacy aspect.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syklee26 Avatar
37 months ago
I dunno why Apple got out of the router business to begin with… weren’t they selling well?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Psychicbob Avatar
37 months ago
My AirPort 2TB Timecapsule is still going well. How I’d love to have an SSD or NVMe replacement available, for when the drive does eventually go!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)