AVM Fritz!Box 7490 review

When it comes to performance, the 7490 did very well in our challenging network test environment, which requires routers to function in an area populated by a variety of other Wi-Fi signals. The 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks run simultaneously, and you can also set up a 2.4GHz guest network that will let users access the internet but not anything else on your network. You might want to use a guest network when you throw a party, for instance.

The 2.4GHz network uses standard 802.11n Wi-Fi and it performed well in our tests using both our laptop and AVM’s own wireless adaptor (FRITZ!WLAN USB Stick N, £52, www.cclonline.co.uk). When we connected with our laptop, the 7490 provided a quick throughput of 40.7Mbit/s at 1m and 40.3Mbit/s at 10m, but failed to complete the test at 20m. When we connected with AVM’s own adaptor the 7490 managed 45Mbit/s at 1m, 40.9Mbit/s at 10m and a stable 9.3Mbit/s at 20m.

The 5GHz network uses the 802.11ac standard to provide a theoretical maximum throughput of 1,300Mbit/s, but the 802.11ac standard is backwards compatible with 802.11n adaptors, such as those in our laptop. When connected to the 5GHz network with our laptop, the 7490 provided transfer speeds of 90.1Mbit/s at 1m, 81.3Mbit/s at 10m and a slightly disappointing 10.7Mbit/s at 20m.

As AVM was unable to supply us with an 802.11ac wireless adaptor in time for testing, we used the D-Link DWA-182 wireless adaptor (£40, www.amazon.co.uk) for the 5GHz 802.11ac part of our test. When connected through the DWA-182, we saw excellent speeds of 172.4Mbit/s at 1m and 195.7Mbit/s at 10m. The test failed at 20m, which is disappointing when you consider that the 802.11ac standard is intended to provide Wi-Fi that works over greater distances than 802.11n. However, please note that we didn’t use AVM’s own adaptor in this test. A fully compatible adaptor is likely to produce a more stable performance over distance.

The Fritz!Box 7490 is fast, feature-packed and capable, but it’s massively expensive compared to many every other 802.11ac routers. Admittedly, 802.11ac routers with a built in VDSL modem are rare, but the Ultimate award-winning Netgear R6300 costs over £100 less than this Fritz!Box and unless you have extensive IP telephony requirements it’s just as capable.