Fritz!box examples on how to get good WiFi coverage

MBSnr

chewed wrote: »

I asked Digiweb for it, as I was having a few issues with the 7560. It kept dropping out for some reason. I'm going to test out the 7530 this week and see how it performs.

Was it brand new or a refurb unit? I asked Digiweb about getting one to replace my old 7560 and was told the 7530 sent out as replacements are refurbed units.

chewed

MBSnr wrote: »

Was it brand new or a refurb unit? I asked Digiweb about getting one to replace my old 7560 and was told the 7530 sent out as replacements are refurbed units.

I'm not sure. How can you tell? The box wasn't sealed, but the device looks very new.

MBSnr

chewed wrote: »

I'm not sure. How can you tell? The box wasn't sealed, but the device looks very new.

The 7530 I bought came with blue plastic film stuck to it like this
https://www.gamescore.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fritzbox-7530-02.jpg

chewed

MBSnr wrote: »

The 7530 I bought came with blue plastic film stuck to it like this
https://www.gamescore.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/fritzbox-7530-02.jpg

Yes, the device I got had this blue plastic on it.

MBSnr

chewed wrote: »

Yes, the device I got had this blue plastic on it.

Nice. I was wondering if you had wifi issues if it was a unit sent back that ended up going out again...

I have three 7530s and two of them have serial numbers beginning with L and with the v7.20 update they retained the ability to dim and turn off the LEDs. The third 7530 has a serial number starting with a K (it's older and has the previous style big instruction booklet like the 7560 came with) and with the v7.20 update it lost the ability to dim the LEDs (function isn't in the interface) but they can still be turned off.
The dimming never worked that well on it so I wonder if they pulled the function from the older series of 7530s.....

chewed

MBSnr wrote: »

Nice. I was wondering if you had wifi issues if it was a unit sent back that ended up going out again...

I have three 7530s and two of them have serial numbers beginning with L and with the v7.20 update they retained the ability to dim and turn off the LEDs. The third 7530 has a serial number starting with a K (it's older and has the previous style big instruction booklet like the 7560 came with) and with the v7.20 update it lost the ability to dim the LEDs (function isn't in the interface) but they can still be turned off.
The dimming never worked that well on it so I wonder if they pulled the function from the older series of 7530s.....

Ah I didn't know you could dim the lights! Handy to know as I've had to move the 7530 up beside the TV to get a better reception.

The device I have has a serial number beginning with M

chewed

So, I've been using the 7530 for a few days now. So far so good.

BUT.....I would have expected much higher speeds on wifi, especially considering I'm on the 1gb Fiber package. I have a new Cat6 cable from ONT to modem. My laptop is picking up 5ghz and this is the result. Should I be getting faster?



The speeds are not an issue for me, but I'm thinking why bother paying for 1gb when I could just be on a cheaper option.

user1842

chewed wrote: »

So, I've been using the 7530 for a few days now. So far so good.

BUT.....I would have expected much higher speeds on wifi, especially considering I'm on the 1gb Fiber package. I have a new Cat6 cable from ONT to modem. My laptop is picking up 5ghz and this is the result. Should I be getting faster?



The speeds are not an issue for me, but I'm thinking why bother paying for 1gb when I could just be on a cheaper option.

That's a good speed for 5Ghz WiFi. WiFi 6 is really the only thing that will make proper use of a 1Gbit fibre connection.

YellowBucket

I’ve found the repeater plugs FritzBox extremely good. Created a nice mesh network & you can configure everything extremely easily from the main Fritzbox.

They ship with standard continental CEE 7/16 plugs, but it’s hardly rocket science (unless you’re a Brexiteer reviewing them) to use a simple adapter.

( We’re going to have great fun after January as only simple plugs and sockets are excluded from the EU Low Voltage Directive and CE marking. So it means that any plug that’s a “device” - WiFi extended plugs, mobile phone chargers, power strips but also light switches etc to British specs, if not CE approved aren’t legal to import here anymore. Also supply chains are likely to become a lot more continental focused. So get used to adapters and two pin plugs in the years ahead. It would probably make more sense for us to just adopt a Schuko or French sockets from 2021 onwards and get it over with. We used to use Schuko for years anyway & the modern versions of those aren’t any downgrade from what we currently use. I mean they’re quite happily used in Sweden, Finland, Norway & Iceland - hardly countries known for use of less safe anything.

https://www.nsai.ie/images/uploads/general/Brexit_Electrical_Questions.pdf )

detective

YellowBucket wrote: »

I’ve found the repeater plugs FritzBox extremely good. Created a nice mesh network & you can configure everything extremely easily from the main Fritzbox.

They ship with standard continental CEE 7/16 plugs, but it’s hardly rocket science (unless you’re a Brexiteer reviewing them) to use a simple adapter.

( We’re going to have great fun after January as only simple plugs and sockets are excluded from the EU Low Voltage Directive and CE marking. So it means that any plug that’s a “device” - WiFi extended plugs, mobile phone chargers, power strips but also light switches etc to British specs, if not CE approved aren’t legal to import here anymore. Also supply chains are likely to become a lot more continental focused. So get used to adapters and two pin plugs in the years ahead. It would probably make more sense for us to just adopt a Schuko or French sockets from 2021 onwards and get it over with. We used to use Schuko for years anyway & the modern versions of those aren’t any downgrade from what we currently use. I mean they’re quite happily used in Sweden, Finland, Norway & Iceland - hardly countries known for use of less safe anything.

https://www.nsai.ie/images/uploads/general/Brexit_Electrical_Questions.pdf )

Where did you get them online?

YellowBucket

detective wrote: »

Where did you get them online?

Amazon. Just beware that one version is in German only, but it’s not exactly a complicated set of menus.

Digiweb

chewed wrote: »

Just saw that! thanks. I might go for it.

We can supply these directly also : https://digiweb.ie/product/fritz-3000-repeater/

As mentioned in the thread all the Fritz powerline devices are continential 2 Pin so we dont supply these just the Fritz 3000 Repeater which comes with 3 pin plug

chewed

YellowBucket wrote: »

Amazon. Just beware that one version is in German only, but it’s not exactly a complicated set of menus.

I just got mine from Amazon this morning. Wow...what a difference. I had a PC upstairs that could barely get wifi and kept dropping out. I put the repeater in the landing and now I can get 200 down and 100 up! Very happy.

YellowBucket

Digiweb: I wonder if you could just supply them with a converter plug.

https://www.powerconnections.co.uk/convert_eurotouk_bca.htm

The plug is inserted, you turn a screw and it’s locked in place. Many companies use similar devices from power connections and similar companies to convert CEE 7 plugs. My recent Sony TV shipped with one.

The legal requirement is covered once the converter is fitted and can be removed only with a tool. In that case, the plug is inserted (by the retailer) and a screw turned so it can simply be plugged in by the customer.

Basically zero assembly for your team & makes the device marketable.

Digiweb

YellowBucket wrote: »

Digiweb: I wonder if you could just supply them with a converter plug.

https://www.powerconnections.co.uk/convert_eurotouk_bca.htm

The plug is inserted, you turn a screw and it’s locked in place. Many companies use similar devices from power connections and similar companies to convert CEE 7 plugs. My recent Sony TV shipped with one.

The legal requirement is covered once the converter is fitted and can be removed only with a tool. In that case, the plug is inserted (by the retailer) and a screw turned so it can simply be plugged in by the customer.

Basically zero assembly for your team & makes the device marketable.

Hi, yes good suggestion. To be honest we tried before to supply some devices that had just been launched with 2 PIN plug with a 3 pin converter (similar to ones you mentioned) but lots of customers very uncomfortable with them and a level of returns. We did try and explain that they are 100% safe etc.

If there's a market for them or even to help out i'm sure we can get a small number of the Fritz power line devices. Anyboby that would like some, welcome to send a PM

YellowBucket

It’s going to be a huge issue post Brexit as potentially future U.K. spec products without CE marking will be illegal.

From a placing them on the market point of view, the key issue is a converter is fitted and locked to the plug with a screw. It’s no different to the snap on plugs found on umpteen other things and is probably safer as the European 2 pin plugs are very robust connectors and to a very well established spec.

user1842

Strange that Fritz don't make a UK version of their plug in repeaters. I'm sure there would be a market for them.

YellowBucket

Seems they’re not very focused on the U.K. at all and other than the U.K. and Ireland hardly anyone uses those plugs, whereas they work across all other European markets and way beyond too.

I would guess if it were worth their while they’d be doing it. It’s literally just a plug pin out.

There’s also at least one ISP using them in NZ, which is another slightly different plug, but same 230V 50Hz power.

Eir uses VDSL2 vectoring very similar to what is used in Germany and a few other continental markets, so some of the smaller ISPs picked up FritzBoxen

Also the VoIP ATA configuration is way more like an Irish landline - correct dial tones and so on - all very familiar, as other than the ringing tone, Caller ID protocol is the same etc we use ETSI standards, the U.K. doesn’t.

And it subsequently turns out they’re probably one of the best home gateways in existence, so they’ve done very well.

Marlow

user1842 wrote: »

Strange that Fritz don't make a UK version of their plug in repeaters. I'm sure there would be a market for them.

YellowBucket wrote: »

Seems they’re not very focused on the U.K. at all and other than the U.K. and Ireland hardly anyone uses those plugs, whereas they work across all other European markets and way beyond too.

AVMs biggest market has always been Germany and the Netherlands.

Funnily enough, the first Fritz!Box was originally developed for a large telco in the US.

Anyhow, because Germany and the Netherlands are their biggest market, their Plug-In repeaters, Powerline adapters and various other things only come with a continental plug.

There is not enough volume for them in the UK/Ireland to make these unless somebody like BT in the UK would start delivering Fritz!Box routers to their customers.

I mean, in Germany nearly every single provider apart from Deutsche Telekom and maybe Vodafone is pushing Fritz!Box routers.

The Fritz!Repeater 3000 with the external power supply, while being a more pricey solution, are excellent. I have 2 of them here. They are tripple radio repeaters (one 5 GHz to connect to the Mesh, and then one 5 GHz and one 2.4 GHz for the clients).

But you don't have to use them. You can also just add another Fritz!Box 4040 or 7530. Does the same thing and may end up being cheaper sometimes.

/M

YellowBucket

Or just use an adapter! Seriously they’re not they big a deal.
Also you don’t plug out a router, so whatever way you have the Fritz plugs connected they’ll likely remain that way for months or years.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Fused-Euro-Converter-Plug/dp/B00F53OBQG

Buy adapter, insert FritzBox repeater europlug into recessed socket, optionally tighten the screw at the bottom of the converter which clamps it in place, effectively making it an Irish / U.K. version.

Couldn’t be easier. It’s a tiny bit bulkier than it would be if using in a German/French socket but only marginally and it’s extremely well held in place - actually much more securely mounted than it would be in Germany and it’s even locally fused down to 3amps instead of 16/20amps as it would be intended to be used.

MBSnr

Marlow wrote: »

The Fritz!Repeater 3000 with the external power supply, while being a more pricey solution, are excellent. I have 2 of them here. They are tripple radio repeaters (one 5 GHz to connect to the Mesh, and then one 5 GHz and one 2.4 GHz for the clients).

But you don't have to use them. You can also just add another Fritz!Box 4040 or 7530. Does the same thing and may end up being cheaper sometimes.

/M

Two questions on this.

If the 3000 is used wired into the mesh are all 3 radios available or does it turn off the 5GHz backhaul one?

Secondly can you say if the radio range is better on the 3000 when used wired in the mesh compared to a 7530 when used wired into the mesh?

Reason I ask is a have a wired 7530 mesh repeater but the signal is restricted by walls to an outside device and I wondered if a 3000 in the same location would be better? I can't move the 7530.

user1842

MBSnr wrote: »

Two questions on this.

If the 3000 is used wired into the mesh are all 3 radios available or does it turn off the 5GHz backhaul one?

Secondly can you say if the radio range is better on the 3000 when used wired in the mesh compared to a 7530 when used wired into the mesh?

Reason I ask is a have a wired 7530 mesh repeater but the signal is restricted by walls to an outside device and I wondered if a 3000 in the same location would be better? I can't move the 7530.

I have a 3000 wired to a 7590 in my parents house (to cover their shed and back garden). Using the Fritzbox app it showed my phone connected to the 3000 via 5GHz at 300-400mbps and that was through a double cavity wall and 20m at the end of the garden.

So I would say the range of the 3000 is excellent (better than the 7530 in my view).

According to the below website only two of the radios are available, even if it is wired to the router:

https://www.techstage.de/test/wlan-mesh-avm-fritz-repeater-3000-im-test/r7qd2dp

(use the translate feature in Chrome )

oscarBravo

MBSnr wrote: »

If the 3000 is used wired into the mesh are all 3 radios available or does it turn off the 5GHz backhaul one?

I can't think of any advantage to having two 5GHz radios active. Any given device can only connect to one of them.

user1842

Fritzbox 7590 AX announced:

https://en.avm.de/press/press-releases/2021/05/fritzbox-7590-ax-the-new-digital-home-hub-with-wi-fi-6/

Also FritzRepeater 6000 announced:

https://en.avm.de/press/press-releases/2021/04/fritzrepeater-6000/

Crazy thing is that the repeater 6000 has a 2.5Gbit ethernet port but the 7590 AX does not. Not sure what the thinking on that was.

Is the €80 to €100 more than the 7530 AX justified, going from a 3x3 WIFI radio to a 4x4 one? im not sure it is.

NabyLadistheman

Just had Eir 1GB installed. I was using a fritzbox as the master modem and a mesh network off of this. (1 repeater) I’ve had a new Eir modem installed and a lan cable running to the repeater from this and it works ok. I’m just wondering how to set-up the other Fritzbox to create a mesh network. Is it possible to do so or would I have to lose the Eir modem?