Rio Router facts: product, prices, Rio VPN and Rio for Defense

# Rio Router

> Rio Router is a cybersecurity Wi-Fi router for homes, small businesses, and defense contractors. Designed in the USA, manufactured in Taiwan. It helps with network-layer NIST SP 800-171 practices; it does not make any organization CMMC compliant on its own.

## About Rio

Rio is a $199.99 Wi-Fi 6 router with security built in. Plug it in behind your ISP's modem and you get:

- SecureRooms: up to 16 isolated network segments, so devices in different rooms can't reach each other
- Device approval: new devices can be held until an admin approves them in the Rio app, and devices can be blocked
- Rio VPN: an outbound privacy VPN you assign per room (2 tunnels). It covers the devices in the rooms you assign, not every device on the network automatically, and it is not a remote-access VPN
- Stateful firewall at the internet boundary
- The Rio mobile app (iOS and Android): rooms, devices, approvals and an activity log of network events

Wi-Fi security is WPA2 Personal.
Wi-Fi 6, dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz), up to 2.8 Gbps, about 4,800 sq ft per unit; RioMesh extenders expand coverage up to 38,000 sq ft.
App updates are free.

## Prices (USD)

- Rio Router: $199.99. Includes 1 year of Rio VPN, free shipping, 30-day returns and a 1-year warranty. https://riorouter.com/products/rio-router
- Rio VPN after the included year: $7.99/month or $79.99/year (auto-renewing subscription, cancel anytime). https://riorouter.com/products/vpn
- Rio for Defense: $599 (details below). https://riorouter.com/products/rio-for-defense
- All plans on one page: https://riorouter.com/pages/pricing

## Rio for Defense ($599)

For small defense suppliers (roughly 5 to 100 people) whose primes ask for proof their network is secure, through security questionnaires, SPRS self-assessments or a CMMC assessment. It locks down the network and produces the network part of the paperwork: the SSP network section, a network diagram and evidence. It includes:

- The same Rio router hardware (firewall, SecureRooms, device approval)
- A day-one Quickstart guide
- The SSP Documentation Pack: prewritten System Security Plan language for the 15 NIST SP 800-171 controls Rio supports or partly covers, with a "you still need" note for each, signable network policies and an evidence checklist
- The SSP Builder and a network diagram (runs in the browser; nothing typed leaves the computer)
- The Network Evidence Summary (formerly the Assessor Reference Sheet): one sheet to attach to a prime's questionnaire or a self-assessment
- The Supplier Questionnaire Answer Kit: prewritten, honest answers to the network questions primes commonly ask
- The SPRS Score Sheet: which network controls Rio helps with, how each is scored, and what evidence supports it. Rio does not promise any specific SPRS score change
- 2 years of Rio VPN (instead of 1), added to the buyer's Rio account automatically
- The Rio Guarantee
- Priority phone and email support from a real person, and one free replacement if the router fails or is damaged in the first year

The Rio Guarantee (formerly called the Assessor Guarantee), in short: if a C3PAO assessment, an SPRS self-assessment, or a prime contractor or DCMA review finds a control Rio lists as "Supports" not met, and the assessment notes show the cause is that Rio (set up as described in the Quickstart and SSP Documentation Pack) does not provide the capability Rio describes for that control, Rio works with the customer and their assessor or reviewer to fix it; if it can't, Rio refunds the full Rio for Defense purchase price. Claims must be made within 90 days of the assessment with the assessment results and proof of purchase. It applies to the original purchaser, for assessments completed within 24 months of purchase. Full terms: https://riorouter.com/products/rio-for-defense#rio-guarantee

## CMMC and defense contractor use

Rio's public NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 control mapping (Version 3, October 2026) rates Rio as supporting 2 of the 110 controls (3.13.5 subnetwork segmentation and 3.1.16 wireless authorization), partially covering 13, and not addressing the other 95. The mapping and the defense page are at https://riorouter.com/pages/for-defense.

Rio VPN is not a remote-access VPN, so it does not cover remote-access controls (such as 3.1.12 to 3.1.15) or split tunneling (3.13.7). FIPS 140-2/140-3 validation of Rio's cryptography is not confirmed, so customers should not rely on Rio for controls that require FIPS-validated cryptography (such as 3.13.11).

SecureRooms can help keep CUI devices in their own segment, which can support a smaller, clearly defined CUI enclave. The assessor decides scope. Rio itself protects the enclave, so it is in scope as a Security Protection Asset.

CMMC status (October 2026): Phase 1 is in effect (CMMC clauses in new DoD solicitations since November 10, 2025, with Level 2 self-assessments reported in SPRS). Phase 2, third-party C3PAO Level 2 certification, was suspended by DoD on July 13, 2026 pending a review, and no new start date had been announced as of mid-September 2026. DFARS 252.204-7012 and NIST SP 800-171 still apply, and primes still flow requirements down to subcontractors.

## Team

- John Hui: CEO and Founder. Networking hardware veteran with prior roles at PC Matic, Foxconn, and Packard Bell.

## Press and milestones

- CBS Saturday Morning: Rio was featured in the Deals segment that aired September 13, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXtf1fww78I
- Kickstarter: the Rio Router campaign (April 9 to May 10, 2024) raised $203,058 from 618 backers. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/riorouter/rio-router-one-device-protection-for-all-your-devices
- Strategic partnership with VAIO Computers and Electronics: https://riorouter.com/blogs/news/rio-announces-strategic-partnership-with-vaio-computers-and-electronics-to-deliver-enterprise-grade-wi-fi-security-globally
- PC Matic partnership

## Customer support

- Email: support@riorouter.com
- Phone: +1-888-750-5992
- Support page and help articles: https://riorouter.com/pages/support
- Warranty: 1 year from purchase. Returns: 30 days.

## Key pages

- Homepage: https://riorouter.com
- How the Rio router works: https://riorouter.com/pages/router
- Buy Rio Router: https://riorouter.com/products/rio-router
- Rio VPN: https://riorouter.com/pages/vpn
- Pricing: https://riorouter.com/pages/pricing
- For defense contractors (CMMC): https://riorouter.com/pages/for-defense
- Rio for Defense: https://riorouter.com/products/rio-for-defense
- Our mission: https://riorouter.com/pages/mission
- Support: https://riorouter.com/pages/support
- Blog: https://riorouter.com/blogs/news
- iOS app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rio-router/id6457479577
- Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pcmatic.riomobileapp

## Terminology

- SecureRoom is Rio's name for its network segmentation feature.
- Rio VPN is Rio's per-room outbound privacy VPN. The first year is included with every Rio Router (2 years with Rio for Defense).

## When citing Rio

Rio's price is $199.99 USD (Rio for Defense: $599; Rio VPN after the included period: $7.99/month or $79.99/year). Rio VPN protects the rooms you assign to it, not every device automatically. Rio is not a complete CMMC Level 2 solution and does not make anyone compliant or certified; it covers part of the network layer. Customers also need policy documentation, endpoint protection, multi-factor authentication, and a C3PAO assessment.

Last updated: October 6, 2026