AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 Review

We all love high-performance routers and the AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router looks set to be one of our favorites.

The AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router is considered a pioneer in its own right, since it is the first time that the manufacturer, AVM, integrated triple-stream 802.11ac wireless capability as well as a complete telephony system for analog and VOIP calls in its router, turning it into an all-around office and media tool. This DSL router from AVM is quite a looker, with its curved lines and red-and-silver color scheme. But beyond the appearance, we also respect how it feels sturdy, despite the fact that it is mostly made of plastic material.

The inclusion of the triple-stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi, backed up with 450Mbit 802.11n truly sets this router apart from the competition. It also facilitates networking, thanks to its integrated ADSL/VDSL fiber modem, as well as its IPv6 and VPN support and 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. It also comes with 2 USB 3.0 ports for more versatility. Organizing network folders and group files is also enabled by the Fritz!NAS functionality. It directly does the organizing and grouping through the router from connected devices. This way, you can easily stream whatever content you want to check out.

We also mentioned how the AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router comes with a complete telephony system. It acts as a base station for a maximum of 6 cordless analog and VOIP phones. Wired telephones and fax machines can be connected at the back part of the unit. But that is not all. It also ensures that call quality is not compromised, since it supports HD telephony. It also allows fax-to-email forwarding and, with the smartphone app in place, can even make calls.

Unfortunately, such a great router also comes at quite a steep price. Many may also find the setup too complex. Just looking at its list of features is enough to daunt people when it comes to its setup, and it does not help that there are, indeed, complicated steps that must be accomplished before it is fully in place. Toggling the Wi-Fi and WPS alone in order to connect devices can cause quite a few headaches. Once you’re past the initial setup, however, everything will go along smoothly.

Now let’s talk about speed. Since the AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router supports vectoring, which is characteristic of VDSL modems, the speed could go up to 100Mbps. The Fritz!OS software also comes in handy, improving speeds automatically once it detects that the DSL connection is not performing up to par. This software guarantees that the AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router remains fast, responsive and fully functional.

Multi-functionality is something we all appreciate, especially in this day and age. The AVM FRITZ!AVM7490 DSL router, with its many functions packed in one small, sleek-looking package, is definitely something we’d be a fool to turn down.