AVM - FRITZ!Box 7490
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Feb 24, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
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2
"excellent update philosophy (very long update support, you will find a lot of boxes out there that are 10+ years old and still running the latest OS)"
"I have been using FRITZ!Boxes for 20 years without any issue."
"my old 7490 still happily routes my 600mbps fiber connection"
3
2
"Easy to use for the average Joe but with tons of functions for the advanced user"
"I've had fritz box router in my old apartment and that was by emfar the best router I used from the standpoint of user interface"
"Fritzbox are generally easy to use"
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"excellent update philosophy (very long update support, you will find a lot of boxes out there that are 10+ years old and still running the latest OS)"
"they get software updates for a long time usually - at least in the past it was usually 10 years after the introduction of a model, possibly even more."
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"I reently added a used 7530AX as wifi repeater and the setup took all of 5 seconds (press button here, press button there, done)"
"I have a 7590 with my father's old 7490 as a mesh repeater in the basement. ... The Fritzbox can use dedicated mesh repeaters or (what is the preferred method) simply used older second hand fritzboxes to form a mesh. ... The repeaters (dedicated or recycled Fritzbox) support being connected via WLAN or LAN and extend the network via both (but dedicated repeaters usually only have a single LAN port or none). ... No, they appear as the same connection and use the same password. ... But you can also set them up differently, in which case they do have another SSID and password. ... I now have tp-link deco meshes because of how easy it was to use. But I will keep in mind that I can build this with old fritzbox routers."
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"I am completely shocked that a single Fritzbox router manages all of our wireless needs in a mid-size company (a few switches and probably 2 dozen APs). We do not use it for work, only for private devices, still, around 100-500 devices connected every work day."
Disliked most:
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"Do you have any advice or resources on getting this setup? I tried playing with GenieACS and I could not get it working at all. ... Honestly it's been over a year since I tried it and gave up. I remember having spent weeks on it and lots of time searching forums. ... I remember I was able to trigger some kind of authentication thing where the lights on the box would blink, but I wasn't able to push config to it. I also don't think it was showing up in my ACS server at all."
"The most frustrating thing about them is the need to press a button or use your landline to change security settings. ... Every other router authenticates the user instead of the user and every action. ... Yeah I know that, but it doesn’t really make it less annoying or unnecessary…"
"very limited, handholding ... It's my device, let me do whatever I want with it, whose options are there just not exposed in the UI."
0
4
"Once I moved away from the FRITZ stuff I finally got options to fix buffer bloat and do proper QoS."
"very limited, handholding ... It's my device, let me do whatever I want with it, whose options are there just not exposed in the UI."
"Yeah it’s okay for the masses, but it misses the mark if you want more control and have even slight complexity."
1
1
"the web interface of a FritzBox was getting really slow because they added a lot of features that the CPU couldn't handle."
0
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"The most frustrating thing about them is the need to press a button or use your landline to change security settings. ... Every other router authenticates the user instead of the user and every action. ... Yeah I know that, but it doesn’t really make it less annoying or unnecessary…"
"not very secure. ... List of CVEs https://app.opencve.io/cve/?vendor=avm"
"very limited, handholding ... It's my device, let me do whatever I want with it, whose options are there just not exposed in the UI."
1
1
"At first, I used a Fritz!Box 7490, which technically supports this setup (as far as I understand, that would be called WISP mode), but it only supports Wi-Fi 5, which made the connection very unstable. ... BUT: Since everything still passes through the Fritz!Box 7490, I’m still limited to Wi-Fi 5 speeds on my client devices."
"My old FritzBox 7490 could but was also limited to the 2,4Ghz band when it was used for both"
adminadminau 1.0A 7490? FritzBoxs seem to last forever. I also like how long they give software updates to old hardware.
Auravendill 1.0I have a 7590 with my father's old 7490 as a mesh repeater in the basement. (The 7490 has somehow a broken DSL modem it seems, but still works flawless for anything else)
csimon2 1.0Why not use the 7490 as a repeater and the AX86U as the router (i.e. just swap the hw)? If the landlord’s WiFi signal is WiFi 5-only, then using a WiFi 6 device to receive is just wasteful. Even if the landlord has a WiFi 6 capable router, WiFi 5 may still be a stronger and more stable connection depending on the location of that router and where you can place your repeater
MythicalLars 1.0Quick disclaimer: I know my setup is extremely niche and probably not relevant to most people, which is likely why there’s so little information about it online. 😅 So here’s my situation: I’m getting my internet wirelessly from my landlord’s network (long story), and unfortunately, running a physical cable is not an option anytime soon. Here’s the catch: I want to have my own subnet with separate DHCP, so I can assign my own IP addresses and keep my devices isolated — meaning my landlord shouldn’t be able to access my network. At first, I used a Fritz!Box 7490, which technically supports this setup (as far as I understand, that would be called WISP mode), but it only supports Wi-Fi 5, which made the connection very unstable. Then I bought a Fritz!Box 6690, not knowing that all newer Fritz!Boxes no longer support true router mode via Wi-Fi uplink. So I had to return it. Instead, I went with the Asus RT-AX68U due to its many configuration options. It technically supports using Wi-Fi as the internet source, but only in repeater mode, which is very limited — no DHCP server, and I can’t even disable Wi-Fi if I wanted to. My current workaround: I’m running the Asus router in repeater mode, then using its LAN port to connect to my old Fritz!Box, which creates its own subnet. This actually works great and the speed has improved massively (from 50 to 400–500 Mbit/s!) thanks to the Asus router’s better Wi-Fi performance and hardware. BUT: Since everything still passes through the Fritz!Box 7490, I’m still limited to Wi-Fi 5 speeds on my client devices. ⸻ So here’s what I’m asking: • Is there a way to configure the Asus RT-AX68U to work as a fully independent router while getting its internet via Wi-Fi uplink? • Or is there a different router that natively supports this kind of WISP setup with full routing, DHCP, and Wi-Fi 6? Thanks a lot in advance for any help or recommendations!
Thanks you! I even got a Raspberry Pi, which I could use as a DHCP server, as far as I can tell from my brief research. Unfortunately, my ASUS router doesn't support OpenWRT, which others here recommended, so I’m definitely going to look into it further :)
rwmfk 1.0A refurbished Fritzbox. You can get them from a Dealer cheap That's what i am using at home, a 7490, runs stable.
shuzz_de 1.0While I dislike that they're hiding a lot of stuff for the sake of user-friendlyness they still have a great ecosystem. E.g. my old 7490 still happily routes my 600mbps fiber connection. I reently added a used 7530AX as wifi repeater and the setup took all of 5 seconds (press button here, press button there, done).
UncertainAdmin 1.0Fair. Then again, I am using a 10 year old router myself (AVM FRITZ!Box 7490)...
Accomplished-Moose50 0.1You don't have to oversell it, it's a decent router from EU, but very limited, handholding and not very secure. List of CVEs https://app.opencve.io/cve/?vendor=avm
AdApart3821 0.1Both renting or buying are valid options. The telekom routers are not bad. The advantage of renting is that they will replace the router if it breaks or if for reasons of modernization you need a new one, but both of these cases are rare. Fritzbox are generally easy to use and seen as reliable; also they get software updates for a long time usually - at least in the past it was usually 10 years after the introduction of a model, possibly even more. However the manufacturer of Fritzbox (AVM) has been bought by an investor last year (I believe, maybe even 2023), so it is quiet probable that the software update policy will worsen. I still would buy a fritzbox though if I would want to buy a router. Which router you could buy depends on what technology your internet access is. The most common ones are DSL or Glasfaser (fibre). Some buildings have cable internet.
asp174 0.1GenieACS works fine with fritzboxes. What exactly does not work for you? How do you feed the ACS URL to your boxes, do they even register in the ACS?
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