Fritz!Box 7490 on FTTC/VDSL2

ChrisD. · 20 Feb 2015 at 09:51

How do you know which equipment is in your cab?

sga1111 · 26 Feb 2015 at 20:46

Well I'm now the proud owner of a shiny new red FRITZ!Box 7490. Is your power adapter a bit of an odd shape?

simoncraddock · 26 Feb 2015 at 22:20

sga1111 said:
Well I'm now the proud owner of a shiny new red FRITZ!Box 7490. Is your power adapter a bit of an odd shape?

Its a monster compared to anything else I have.

michty_me · 26 Feb 2015 at 23:43

simoncraddock said:
Its a monster compared to anything else I have.

What routers have you used in the past and how would you rate the wireless range etc compared to them?

sga1111 · 27 Feb 2015 at 00:25

I've had to use a plug extension to get it to fit as there is a great big lip on the plug pin side! - I've had a couple of DrayTek's the VDSL one has 3 x 9dB aerials, to be fair that took the signal to the moon lol - but it's not 5GHz so I then bought the ASUS DSL-AC68U. The signal was very good, just the VDSL modem let it down badly (so it was returned).
On the FRITZ!; Up to now I find the signal to be very good, the 5GHz AC works well but you lose it after a bit of distance (I've not fully tested it yet but will test and report back). I must say I was a little worried it would not cut the mustard but from what I've tested it's proving me wrong. I have Apple TV that jumps in & out but that's Apple bugs as it's always done it on every router I've owned, all other devices are running fast smooth, in good order and I am happy.
Are you having issues with yours?
The FRITZ as a modem/router has been very solid, it's been up for just over 8 hours and I've only seen 17 CRC Errors. I have a poor aluminium line that modems don't seem to like and its dealing with it great! I have to say it just feels very solid in all aspects and I really do recommend it!
I will also post a few updates as to how the 7490 is performing.
Cheers

michty_me · 27 Feb 2015 at 00:35

Great! I'm looking forward to hearing everyones input as I am still swithering on buying this or the 3490. Just a bit put off as many reviews I read said it was only slightly better than the BT HH5 in terms of performance.
I'm currently using the BT supplied modem with a N66U router with Zen.

Not really too keen on the look of the Fritzbox really either but would possibly let that go if its a solid performer.

sga1111 · 27 Feb 2015 at 09:16

michty_me said:
Great! I'm looking forward to hearing everyones input as I am still swithering on buying this or the 3490. Just a bit put off as many reviews I read said it was only slightly better than the BT HH5 in terms of performance.
I'm currently using the BT supplied modem with a N66U router with Zen.

Not really too keen on the look of the Fritzbox really either but would possibly let that go if its a solid performer.

I agree not the best looking thing in the world, but I'm happy to report that in under 24 hours, it's re-synced with the DLM and upped my throughput (for the first time ever on my line!) It's gone from (on the OR modem) 39.5Mb Down to 42.5Mb the attainable rate has increased to. I am not sure if I will ever get onto fast as its a short but poor line, due to it being aluminium. This bit of kit if it carries on will impress me (that's hard to do). I am seeing some great things from it!
I will keep updating!

michty_me · 27 Feb 2015 at 10:20

sga1111 said:
I agree not the best looking thing in the world, but I'm happy to report that in under 24 hours, it's re-synced with the DLM and upped my throughput (for the first time ever on my line!) It's gone from (on the OR modem) 39.5Mb Down to 42.5Mb the attainable rate has increased to. I am not sure if I will ever get onto fast as its a short but poor line, due to it being aluminium. This bit of kit if it carries on will impress me (that's hard to do). I am seeing some great things from it!
I will keep updating!

That's great to hear. Especially that it is stable and doing the same if not better than the openreach unit. Does it use the same chip set as the OR one? I've been tempted to buy it and then dismantle and give a dusting of white or black paint. Not sure if it would cos issues with WiFi performance.
For years I've been hearing how good the fritzbbox was but there was plenty choice for ADSL lines and it seemed expensive then.

simoncraddock · 7 Jun 2015 at 11:26

If anyone wants an easy way of tweaking the Fritzbox try this...

https://github.com/mypikachu/FBEditor/releases

It's in German but fairly easy to use.

Shac · 7 Jun 2015 at 13:02

How are you all finding the fritzbox now you have months of useage out of it?
In the same boat with an AC68U that shafted my connection with DLM.
Looked at the Fritzbox some reviews say wireless is not good.
The worst thing is it looks awful.

Ayahuasca · 7 Jun 2015 at 13:07

Any router without antennas is going to struggle to perform well on wireless if you're wanting to keep as much speed as possible at range. It depends entirely on how far away you want to use devices in your home.

simoncraddock · 7 Jun 2015 at 13:19

Shac said:
How are you all finding the fritzbox now you have months of useage out of it?
In the same boat with an AC68U that shafted my connection with DLM.
Looked at the Fritzbox some reviews say wireless is not good.
The worst thing is it looks awful.

The FB has been rock solid on my line, very few errors compared to using the Asus, HG612, Billion, HH5 to name a few.

As for wireless I only use it on my phone and tablet everything else is either Ethernet or Powerline, however I get a good signal on both devices in general. Wireless is one of those things that can be affected by building design/construction so wouldn't like to say it's good or bad so if in doubt avoid or buy a repeater .

Regarding it's appearance, mine sits underneath a set of drawers but is still well ventilated so it's not an issue.

cuke2u · 8 Jun 2015 at 15:38

So some familiar names in here, the FritzBox I gather is worth going for?

Ixel · 9 Jun 2015 at 00:35

chriscatt said:
So some familiar names in here, the FritzBox I gather is worth going for?

Mine seems fine, fewer errors compared to other devices no doubt due to matching chipsets. Seems stable and responsive here. Ping to bbc.co.uk has been 6ms (best I've seen).

cuke2u · 9 Jun 2015 at 10:39

That is a good ping, so do I take the plunge having had such a poor experience with the Asus? I am very tempted...

Ixel · 9 Jun 2015 at 12:07

Obviously I can't make the decision for you, but here's something else regarding the ping and traceroute to bbc.co.uk.

Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/h9QhyLg.png

If by any chance you also run multiple public static IP's like I do then this is the perfect device. It appears to support two subnets with NAT still enabled for one subnet and no NAT for the other. This means I can still issue LAN IP's with internet access via the router's public IP address, while issuing any of the other public static IP's to other devices which need one.

simoncraddock · 9 Jun 2015 at 12:18

chriscatt said:
So some familiar names in here, the FritzBox I gather is worth going for?

The 7490 has been the best bit of kit I've bought in ages and is very stable on my line (ECI Cab). I don't use WI-FI other than for mobile/tablet use however it's been good, responsive and fast around the home. If you look around the forums there aren't that many complaints really.

michty_me · 9 Jun 2015 at 14:41

Does fritzbox have a built in VPN to their GUI that works with android?

simoncraddock · 9 Jun 2015 at 14:59

michty_me said:
Does fritzbox have a built in VPN to their GUI that works with android?

Yes you can set up a VPN to allow Android devices access to the GUI. I'm guessing that's what you meant.
The screenshot below is the help page on the Fritzbox.

michty_me · 9 Jun 2015 at 15:37

Well not entirely. I meant can I create a config file that I can import into a VPN client that allows me to route my internet through my home network when I'm travelling?