INTRODUCTION
The world may be filled with all types of people from casual everyday consumers, gamers and overclockers and up to enthusiasts, professionals and enterprise users all of which have different priorities but if i had to think of something common that every single person out there wants to have (when it comes to computers that is) that would probably be the fastest possible internet connection. Now it goes without saying that most casual users who just like to surf the internet can do so with very basic speeds (once upon a time we all did that and even more with just 14.4 Kbit/s dial-up modems) but anything extra like downloading media content, preloading new game titles, playing demanding MMO games and/or even sharing your work with several colleagues all around the globe simultaneously (successfully that is) requires a lot more juice from your internet connection. The secret however behind a fast internet connection is not only the type you have installed and paying for but also the equipment you're using with it and this is where manufacturers like AVM come in with their state of the art modem/routers like the FRITZ!Box 7490.
AVM offers a wide range of products for high-speed broadband connectivity and smart home networking. With the FRITZ! product family, AVM is a leading manufacturer of broadband devices for ADSL, cable, and LTE as well as Smart Home products for wireless LAN, DECT, and Powerline in Germany and Europe. The FRITZ!Box is the best known brand for wireless routers in Germany. In 2014 the communications specialist had 500 employees and generated a turnover of 340 million euros. Founded in Berlin in 1986, from the outset the company has focused on developing its own secure, innovative products for broadband connections. FRITZ! stands for fast Internet, the networked home and convenient telephony. Millions of satisfied customers and hundreds of award-winning products confirm AVM’s commitment to high-quality FRITZ! products and first-class customer service.
AVM's top of the line FRITZ!Box 7490 combines many functions in one unit since not only is it both a router and a VDSL/ADSL2+ modem (this is not something we haven't seen many times in the past but the 7490 is compatible with both Annex A/B and analogue/IDSN lines out of the box) but it's also a repeater, DECT phone base station for up to 6 handsets (4 for the international version which we have here with us), incoming/outgoing call handler (also allows you to access your landline from your smartphone by using the FRITZ!AppFon android/iOS app), answering machine (5 available ones), fax machine (includes email forwarding), NAS server (has 512MB of internal memory) and a media server (SMB/FTP/UPNP AV). The FRITZ!Box 7490 broadcasts two concurrent wireless signals (1300Mbit 802.11ac & 450Mbit 802.11n), supports VDSL lines up to 100Mbit (full vectoring), is compatible with 17a and 30a VDSL2 profiles and has a total of 4 gigabit Ethernet ports and two USB 3.0 ports (side and rear). The FRITZ!Box 7490 sure looks perfect on paper but what about real use?
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The FRITZ!Box 7490 arrived inside a cardboard box that has its main features listed at the front.
The features are also listed on the left side and on the right we see the SNR and MAC address of the unit along with a made in Germany (that was a nice surprise really).
Everything inside the box is placed inside several pieces of cardboard.
Along with the FRITZ!Box 7490 you will also get a paper with the installation instructions, 1.5m long Ethernet cable, 4.25m long DSL connecting cable, power supply adapter and two phone line filters/adapters.
THE FRITZ!BOX 7490
Have you ever watched the old or new Thunderbirds? If so the 245mm wide, 175mm long and 55mm tall enclosure of the FRITZ!Box 7490 should remind you of them at first glance (unfortunately its quality is not the best).
Part of the top is perforated and as you can see there are also two buttons present (DECT and WLAN/WPS functionality).
There are also 5 large activity LEDs at the front of the device indicating the power, DSL status, DECT phone status, wireless status and finally an info LED which can be adjusted to light up on various "alarms".
A USB 3.0 port is placed on the left side of the FRITZ!Box 7490 and on the left side we find two areas where the German version (not the International one we have here) has two extra phone ports (we didn't open the enclosure byt the hardware should still be there behind these covers).
At the rear we see the DSL/TEL port (used with the 4.25mm long connecting cable), two analog phone ports, one ISDN phone port, 4 gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, USB 3.0 port and the power port (unfortunately the device lacks a dedicated WAN port - you can still use LAN 1 for that - and an on/off button).
Most of the base is also perforated and as you can see the device can also be mounted onto a wall.
SETUP
After you follow the installation instructions described in the long paper inside the box you will just need to launch your Internet browser to start the setup procedure and choose your language (if that doesn't work automatically then go to http://fritz.box or 192.168.178.1).
The setup procedure asks you to choose your region (plenty included in the setup UI), annex mode (A or B) and also assign a password.
Finally the wizard will ask you to choose the type of connection (DSL or Cable) after which it will check all your settings.
FRITZ!OS PART 1
Once you login the web GUI you will be redirected to the overview screen from where you can test the current power consumption, check the current connections and used interfaces and see which devices are currently connected to the device. By default the FRITZ! OS (web GUI) is set on standard view (lower end of the screen) and so if you really want access to everything the FRITZ! Box 7490 has to offer i strongly suggest using advanced mode.
Through the Internet drop down menu you can check the utilization of your internet connection (there are a couple of nice graphs here) and the amount of data send and received, setup your connection (IPv6 is supported), set individual parental filters for all connected devices, enable/disable access to the FRITZ!Box 7490 from anywhere in the world via HTTPS and finally you can monitor your DSL connection from the most detailed information page I’ve ever seen used in a modem/router.
The Telephony drop-down menu can be used if you connect a phone with the device and allows you to check the calls list, configure the answering machine, access stored telephone numbers, setup the phone (or phones) as alarms, setup the fax function and also allows you to handle/redirect all incoming calls.
FRITZ!OS PART 2
Next on the list is the Home Network drop-down menu and from here you can once again see which devices are connected to the FRITZ!Box 7490 (both wired and wirelessly), adjust some network settings including the guest access (perhaps the most important is to enable full speed on all 4 Gigabit ports since by default only the first is), enable/disable the onboard memory of the FRITZ!NAS function (you can also configure an external HDD if connected to one of the two USB 3.0 ports) and setup the media server feature.
The WLAN drop-down menu is self-explained really so here you can setup the two bands (2.4/5GHz), check and see which devices are connected and how to the FRITZ!Box 7490 (wirelessly), monitor the wireless environment to see if something is interfering with the signal, configure the encryption, schedule when you want WiFi to be on and when not, create a guest WiFi access mode and change the operating mode of the unit (access point or repeater).
We didn't end up using the DECT feature of the device but as you can see from the drop-down menu there are plenty of available options to play with.
Via the diagnostics page you can run quick diagnostics on both the unit and its security settings.
Checking the event logs, unit power consumption, adjusting the use of the two buttons at the top and the activity LEDs, performing OS updates and backing up all your settings is easy through the System drop-down menu.
TESTING METHODOLOGY
To sufficiently test modem/routers we had to change our methodology quite a bit since we decided to make use of the online internet speed measurement application called SpeedTest (we use it with two different destinations/servers). SpeedTest may not be the most "accurate" way to test internet connection speeds since variables change all the time from our ISP to the ISPs of the servers SpeedTest makes use of but the same can be said for every single way one can test internet speed. Bottom line whatever the results always remember that they may not be 100% on the spot. To somehow "help" our results we also record the connected downstream/upstream values each modem/router is able to get into our charts (reboot the modem/router 6 times to get the average upstream/downstream value).
The rest of our testing methodology involves testing the wireless capabilities of the modem/router at hand and thus it's the exact same we use when testing standalone routers. So once again we will be using the networking benchmark by Passmark (v.8), the QCheck by Ixia and ATTO 2.47 (since April 2015) to test the bandwidth of the highest available wireless standard/band (5GHz in this case). Our systems are placed 15m away from the router with 3 concrete walls between them while each test (including the ones above) is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average scores are recorded into our charts. Both systems have Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 installed with all the updates until the 18th of June 2015.
TEST RESULTS
CONCLUSION
The FRITZ!Box 7490 is actually the 2nd product we've gotten our hands on by AVM so we really didn't know what to expect not only in terms of performance but also in features and build quality. Performance as you can see may not be the best in terms of DSL internet speed since other modem/routers have negotiated better downstream/upstream numbers in the past (that could just be due to our ISP however) but it's excellent in both wired and wireless connection. Also we were all quite surprised to see that AVM doesn't "market" the FRITZ!Box 7490 as a AC1600/1650 model like most manufacturers do (by adding up both the 802.11ac and 802.11n wireless bands) but as an AC1300 model and although in the end that doesn't change anything still we liked that. Unfortunately things are not as clear in the build quality area since although the interior components are top-notch and the device is assembled in Germany still we feel that AVM should had used better materials for the enclosure since it doesn't feel sturdy enough, certainly not for a top of the line device like the FRITZ!Box 7490. As for features well i don't think you need me to tell you since the previous pages should be more than sufficient but the FRITZ!Box 7490 offers more options and settings than no other modem/router we've tested to date and although even we couldn't hope to ever use even half of them chances are that there are people out there who just might and so having them is better than not. Strangely enough however there's no WAN port present (you can use LAN 1 for that but that only leaves 3 Ethernet ports for you to use) and by default AVM has turned many options off to reduce power consumption so do remember to change the state of the Gigabit Ethernet ports from 100Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s (if you need the extra speed that is).
Since AVM is a German based manufacturer unfortunately their products are not available in the USA (or at least not officially) to date so we were unable to track the FRITZ!Box 7490 there. In the EU however it currently retails for 199Euros (Amazon.de) a price tag which is right on par with what the competition asks for similar models (of course you can find other less powerful ones however for much less). AVM however offers more with the FRITZ!Box 7490 from support for every single type of line right out of the box and available features up to an overwhelming number of available settings for even the most demanding user out there so if you could use or even need those extra things then this is the modem/router for you. As for us well we really liked using the FRITZ!Box 7490 and since we feel that it offers more than any other modem/router to have reached our lab till this day it gets our Platinum Award.
PROS
- Overall Build Quality
- Wireless Performance (Fastest Modem Router In Our Charts)
- AC1750 Technology (Concurrent 802.11n & 802.11ac)
- Compatible With Every Line Type
- Available Features (DECT Base/Repeater/NAS Server/Media Server/Call Handling/Answering Machine/Fax Machine)
- Overwhelming Number Of Settings
- Android & iOS App
- 4 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 2 USB 3.0 Ports
- 5 Year Warranty
CONS
- Price (For Some)
- No Dedicated WAN Port (LAN 1 can be used for that)