FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro Review

I first wrote in regards to the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional again at the beginning of 2023, however for numerous causes, the launch was delayed.

It has lastly been launched, and I’ve been utilizing it for the previous few weeks.

My testing has been considerably restricted as I’m primarily based within the UK and use Virgin Media for my broadband connection, whereas that is designed for use with AON or GPON fibre optic connections linked instantly into the SFP port reasonably than through an ONT.

FRITZ!Field Routers Accessible within the UK

Whereas the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional isn’t being launched within the UK. AVM has launched a brand new web site that lists AVM FRITZ!field routers which can be obtainable within the UK.

Associated Opinions

Options and Specs

Connectivity

• Broadband Assist:
  • Appropriate with DSL (together with VDSL with Supervectoring as much as 300Mbit/s)
  • Helps each energetic AON and GPON fibre optic connections through an SFP slot
• Ports:
  • 1 x SFP slot for fibre SFP modules
  • 1 x RJ-45 port (2.5 Gigabit, WAN/LAN)
  • 4 x Gigabit LAN ports
  • 1 x DSL port (RJ-45)
  • 1 x USB 3.1 port
  • 1 x analogue phone port

Wi-fi Options

• Tri-band Wi-Fi:
  Operates concurrently on 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz frequency bands
• Wi-Fi 7 Assist:
  Delivers theoretical speeds as much as:
  • 11,530Mbit/s (6GHz band)
  • 5,760Mbit/s (5GHz band)
  • 1,200Mbit/s (2.4GHz band)
• Wi-Fi Applied sciences:
  • OFDMA, MU-MIMO, and 320MHz channel bandwidth help
  • Mesh Wi-Fi functionality for prolonged vary and seamless handover

Community and Efficiency

• Most Backhaul Bandwidth:
  As much as 18,490Mbit/s throughout all wi-fi bands
• LAN/WAN Connectivity:
  2.5 Gigabit WAN/LAN for high-speed wired connections
  4 further Gigabit LAN ports for native networking
• USB Storage:
  USB 3.1 port for community sharing of storage units or printers
• VPN Assist:
  Helps high-speed VPN connections (as much as 1.8Gbit/s with IPSec and 1.4Gbit/s with WireGuard)

Telephony and System Administration

• Built-in Phone System:
  • DECT base station for as much as 6 cordless telephones
  • VoIP and ISDN/analogue landline help
  • Voicemail, fax performance, and phonebook
• Media and File Sharing:
  Constructed-in NAS and media server performance for sharing recordsdata, pictures, and movies on the community

Good Residence Integration

• FRITZ! Good Residence:
  • Direct integration with Zigbee and DECT ULE/HAN-FUN requirements
  • Controls all kinds of sensible units together with lights, switches, sensors, and sensible plugs
• System Compatibility:
  • Helps units from third-party producers utilising Zigbee or DECT ULE
  • Compatibility with merchandise resembling Philips Hue lights, IKEA Tradfri, and different licensed Zigbee units
  • Administration and automation by way of the FRITZ!App Good Residence and browser interface
• Good Residence Situations:
  • Gadgets may be grouped into scenes, scheduled routines, and triggered actions for automation
  • System operates domestically, with out reliance on exterior servers or cloud companies

Further Options

• Safety:
  • Built-in firewall, visitor Wi-Fi, and parental controls
  • Common firmware updates to keep up safety and add new performance
• Mesh Assist:
  The router can act because the core of a mesh community, guaranteeing constant Wi-Fi efficiency all through bigger properties

Technical Specs Desk

Mannequin Comparability (Fibre Focus)

FRITZ!OS 8.20 Replace

AVM launched the brand new FRITZ!OS 8.20, after I had written most of this overview, however with the brand new OS, you get various enhancements, specializing in clearer community administration, improved vitality consumption, and enhanced person choices. The brand new model introduces an overhauled on-line monitor that permits customers to analyse community utilisation over selectable time intervals, together with the previous two weeks, making it less complicated to establish units with the very best knowledge utilization. Power Environment friendly Ethernet now allows extra management over energy consumption per port, serving to customers scale back pointless vitality use with out affecting efficiency.

Parental controls have change into extra easy, displaying all entry profiles and units on a single web page and rising the variety of obtainable time tickets, which makes monitoring and controlling household web entry simpler.

FRITZ! Failsafe, a brand new fallback safety characteristic, is included to keep up web connectivity in case of service disruption. The system can now mechanically change to a backup connection, resembling a cellular dongle or one other FRITZ!Field, when the first broadband hyperlink is misplaced.

For these utilizing Mesh Wi-Fi setups, the mixing and administration of repeaters have been streamlined, eradicating the necessity for repeated password entry and permitting a number of repeaters to be added concurrently.

File sharing sees an improve with new add sharing through FRITZ!NAS: customers can now share folders utilizing a hyperlink, which allows direct importing and downloading of recordsdata while not having to arrange particular person accounts.

Good dwelling performance is prolonged additional. House owners of the FRITZ!Good Power 250 can now monitor vitality manufacturing and consumption in better element, for instance, by monitoring the output of a balcony photo voltaic panel system. The replace additionally provides new choices for controlling and automating sensible switches and radiator controls, together with routines triggered by a wide range of occasions, and enhances lighting administration options.

Unboxing / Design

The FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional departs from the platform’s acquainted horizontal design, choosing an upright chassis completed in shiny plastic. The positioning enhances air flow and may be extra space-efficient, although the dearth of built-in wall mounting is a loss for some. All ports are situated on the rear, leaving the entrance seam uncluttered apart from a standing LED panel. The information LED’s brightness is adjustable.

Construct high quality is strong, with a delicate, understated look that avoids attracting an excessive amount of consideration. Cables and energy bricks are included as anticipated. General, the bodily design prioritises practicality, although the shiny end is a magnet for fingerprints and scratches.

Ports

That is imagined to be a flagship mannequin, so I discovered it fairly disappointing that it is just outfitted with multi-gig on the SFP and WAN port.

The two.5GbE WAN port can be utilized as a LAN port, so for European customers with AON or GPON fibre, then it’s much less of a priority.

Within the UK, CityFibre makes use of GPON, however all our FTTP connections get terminated into an optical community terminal (ONT). To the most effective of my data, it isn’t potential to have CityFibre FTTP connections terminate right into a router, because the connection is authenticated utilizing a novel ONU/ONT serial quantity.

Set Up

Organising the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional is simple, leveraging AVM’s mature internet UI. The preliminary configuration wizard is straightforward to observe, with clear separation between DSL, fibre, or WAN setup modes and particular choices for some main ISPs.

For fibre installations the place direct authentication is required, the SFP slot or WAN port may be chosen. Customers within the UK wanting to make use of the 5690 Professional with suppliers like CityFibre ought to retain their current ONT connection and use the two.5GbE WAN port.

Internet UI / Settings

AVM’s FRITZ!OS is generally user-friendly, with an emphasis on readability reasonably than presenting advanced settings by default. The dashboard supplies fast entry to standing, community units, telephony, NAS, and sensible dwelling administration.

Superior customers will discover loads of choices for static routing, QoS, port forwarding, VPN (WireGuard or IPSec), firewall customisation, visitor networks, and distant entry. The firewall and parental controls are strong sufficient for households and small enterprise setups.

Firmware upgrades are well-integrated, with AVM releasing common fixes and enhancements. It’s advisable to maintain on high of updates, however customers can set updates to handbook if they like to keep away from automated restarts.

Connectivity / Velocity Checks

For WiFi testing, I used to be restricted to utilizing the 1GbE LAN ports as I used to be not utilizing the SFP port for WAN. With Wi-Fi 7 and 6Ghz, it ought to be straightforward to exceed a gigabit in throughput, and lots of routers are able to doing this on 5 GHz with Wi-Fi 7 as properly.

At shut vary, the router achieves good speeds as anticipated. The 6GHz band constantly achieves the very best throughput, with appropriate units reaching speeds approaching the theoretical maximums. The 5GHz band supplies wonderful efficiency for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 units, while the two.4GHz band affords strong connectivity for IoT units and older gear.

Efficiency degrades predictably with elevated distance and bodily limitations, although protection stays sufficient for many properties. The 6GHz band is sweet for a similar room and rooms instantly subsequent to the router, however degrades rapidly past this.

The 5GHz achieves a usable sign all through my dwelling, which is a larger-than-average dwelling for the UK, with brick inner partitions.

As all the time with 2.4Ghz, speeds are fairly poor, however with good vary, I nearly solely use this band for IoT units these days

Multi-device testing demonstrates the advantages of Wi-Fi 7’s improved effectivity applied sciences. OFDMA and MU-MIMO implementations deal with a number of simultaneous connections successfully, sustaining constant efficiency even with quite a few energetic units.

You too can pair this up with one of many Fritz mesh units, such because the FRITZ!Repeater 3000 AX (WiFi 6).

VOIP / Phone Features

The built-in telephone is likely one of the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional’s fundamental promoting factors compared to different manufacturers. I work in IT help, and all of the small companies we cope with use VOIP.

VoIP configuration accommodates most service suppliers, although parameter entry can show advanced for customers unfamiliar with telephony settings.

DECT handset help permits as much as six cordless telephones with full characteristic integration, together with phonebook synchronisation, name forwarding, and voicemail entry. The bottom station supplies sufficient protection for typical residential functions, although massive properties may require further DECT repeaters.

Analogue phone help maintains compatibility with conventional gear, together with fax machines and answering units. The implementation preserves full performance while including digital options resembling caller ID and name blocking.

VoIP high quality relies upon closely on web connection stability and configuration accuracy. Correctly configured programs ship wonderful audio high quality and dependable connectivity, while incorrect settings can lead to dropped calls and poor audio efficiency.

The built-in answering machine and fax performance remove the necessity for separate units, with messages accessible by way of each handsets and internet interface. Integration with the sensible dwelling system permits automation primarily based on telephony occasions, resembling lighting management throughout incoming calls.

Good Residence Integration

The sensible dwelling platform demonstrates AVM’s dedication to complete dwelling automation, supporting each proprietary DECT ULE units and industry-standard Zigbee merchandise. System capability of fifty DECT ULE and 40 Zigbee units accommodates substantial automation installations.

Setup complexity varies considerably between gadget sorts, with AVM’s personal merchandise sometimes providing simplified pairing processes while third-party units could require extra detailed configuration. The system supplies clear standing data and troubleshooting steering for connection points.

Automation capabilities embrace scheduling, scenes, and trigger-based actions that allow subtle dwelling automation eventualities. The native processing method improves response instances and maintains performance throughout web outages.

Integration with standard sensible dwelling manufacturers together with Philips Hue, IKEA Tradfri, and different licensed Zigbee units works reliably, although characteristic units could differ in comparison with manufacturer-specific hubs. Superior options like color temperature adjustment and sophisticated scenes typically operate appropriately.

Matter & Residence Assistant

The product web page of the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional make snow point out of Matter, however AVM has repeatedly stated it’s launching and even has a web page exhibiting you the way to integrate FRITZ! Smart Home into the Matter network.

Nevertheless, Matter help stays unavailable, limiting integration with main sensible dwelling platforms. Up to now yr, I’ve been utilizing Matter an rising quantity to combine sensible dwelling ecosystems with Residence Assistant. It’s removed from good, however it has been nice having the ability to combine completely different manufacturers simply.

As I’m closely invested in sensible dwelling units, I wouldn’t personally use a controller that doesn’t help Matter these days (and perfect Thread). That being stated, I believe critical sensible dwelling fanatics would use a FRITZ!Field as a main controller for Zigbee units, and that is doubtless extra interesting to individuals simply entering into sensible properties, the place Matter could be much less vital.

VPN Choices / Efficiency

Since transferring into an IT help position, I repeatedly cope with purchasers needing to distant into their very own community. With many individuals working from dwelling, this has change into an more and more vital characteristic. And now I work in an workplace and do the identical with my very own community.

VPN capabilities symbolize a big power, with help for each WireGuard and IPSec protocols delivering spectacular efficiency.

Configuration complexity varies between protocols, with WireGuard typically proving less complicated to determine while IPSec affords broader compatibility with enterprise programs. The interface supplies wizards for widespread eventualities while permitting detailed handbook configuration for superior necessities.

Consumer software program compatibility consists of official AVM functions for cellular units and configuration recordsdata for normal VPN purchasers. The implementation helps a number of simultaneous connections, enabling members of the family to entry dwelling assets securely while travelling.

Efficiency testing reveals constantly excessive speeds with minimal impression on web connectivity. Latency will increase stay modest, making the VPN appropriate for real-time functions together with video calls and gaming.

Safety implementation follows present greatest practices, with common updates addressing rising threats and vulnerabilities. The native termination method supplies higher privateness in comparison with cloud-based VPN companies while sustaining full person management.

Value and Different Choices

The AVM FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional just isn’t formally obtainable within the UK. It’s on Amazon.de for 300 euros, and numerous UK retailers record it for round £340. Amazon UK lists it at £370.

The FRITZ!Field 5590 Fiber and 5530 Fiber additionally help AON and GPON and are available in at a cheaper price level. The FRITZ!Field 5590 Fiber seems to be round €220

By way of competing merchandise, AVM is likely one of the few corporations that produce routers with DSL modems and fibre optic connections.

For UK patrons, the FRITZ!Field 4690 is arguably a extra interesting product because it has a 10GbE WAN port, single 10GbE Ethernet port then 3×2.5GbE ports. Although this lacks the 6GHz band for WiFi 7. You should buy this for €279 on Amazon.de or £328 within the UK.

Even while you ignore the SFP and modem options, it’s exhausting to match AVM to different manufacturers as they lack the telephony options and most lack sensible dwelling options.

General

If you’re primarily based within the EU with an AON or GPON fibre connection, then the FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional is a wonderful, feature-rich router.

Compared to the opposite FRITZ!Field fibre fashions profit from the 6GHz band for WiFi 7, whereas the non-pro mannequin is just 5/2.4Ghz. The non-PRO mannequin additionally doesn’t have an SFP port however makes use of an built-in optical port.

The sensible dwelling platform supplies strong performance for mixed-vendor installations, although the absence of Matter help limits cross-platform integration. Future updates could tackle this limitation, however present patrons ought to think about their fast compatibility necessities.

Lengthy-term software program help represents a big benefit, with AVM’s monitor document suggesting years of updates and have additions. This method supplies a greater worth proposition in comparison with units that change into out of date rapidly as a consequence of deserted software program help.

General, FRITZ!Field 5690 Professional is a wonderful alternative for customers who worth characteristic integration over pure efficiency.

Because of the telephony options, I’d argue this, and different FRITZ!Field fashions have probably the most important enchantment to small companies. That being stated, the excellent options, together with sensible dwelling integration, will make this interesting for anybody wanting an all-in-one premium answer.

I’m James, a UK-based tech fanatic and the Editor and Proprietor of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Obsessed with all issues expertise, my experience spans from computer systems and networking to cellular, wearables, and sensible dwelling units.

As a health fanatic who loves working and biking, I even have a eager curiosity in fitness-related expertise, and I take each alternative to cowl this area of interest on my weblog. My various pursuits enable me to deliver a novel perspective to tech running a blog, merging life-style, health, and the most recent tech traits.

In my educational pursuits, I earned a BSc in Info Methods Design from UCLAN, earlier than advancing my studying with a Grasp’s Diploma in Computing. This superior examine additionally included Cisco CCNA accreditation, additional demonstrating my dedication to understanding and staying forward of the expertise curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has constantly ranked Mighty Gadget as one of many high expertise blogs within the UK. With my dedication to expertise and drive to share my insights, I goal to proceed offering my readers with participating and informative content material.