
Ask HN: Do I need FCC approval for selling modded tablets? - throwaway010102
I want to work on some hardware projects where I buy cheap Android tablets and build them inside other things (like furniture, adding a screen to a backpack etc) Can I just build these and sell them. Or do I need specific licenses&#x2F;approval of some sort
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davismwfl
IANAL, but have done a few of these type projects. With some caveats of
course, as long as you are using FCC licensed tablets (e.g. must have an FCC
ID already) and are not modifying the radio or antenna then you just have to
list the FCC ID of the original tablet on the outside of your packaging and
follow the rules for manuals etc. This is similar to why a lot of people start
with FCC licensed modules for hardware projects instead of building up their
own. Also, if you co-locate any other transceiver then you will have to do FCC
testing and get a new ID, although it is not that difficult or expensive to do
it generally.

I had built a few kiosk marketing solutions that basically did just this and
we did go through legal just to make sure we were on the up and up and it was
really simple. Honestly just following some instructions from the FCC would
have been good enough, but we didn't want to chance a screw up.

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throwaway010102
Thanks. This is super valuable!

