AVM FRITZ!Box 4060, FRITZ!Repeater 6000 and 1200 AX in a hardcore test – Can it handle the complete lab?

1 - Introduction and some band salad 2 - From the bottom to the top: Distribution problems 3 - Basics of a good mesh network 4 - Fritz!Box 4060 in dDetail 5 - Fritz!Repeater 6000 and 1200 AX in detail 6 - Measurements and summary

Preliminary remark on the measurements

I am measuring real net streams this time, not synthetically generated traffic. Even though the measurements with iPerf always looked quite good in the old setup: The reality in everyday use (especially when using many clients and different applications for hours on end) cannot be reproduced, of course, and it also catches up with you quite quickly. The starting point for today’s measurements is always the router with active Gigabit Internet on the ground floor (for practical purposes). Of course, this also means that the router’s 2.5 G socket is already occupied with the FTTH modem and you cannot connect a fast NAS. However, throughputs above 1 Gbit/s are theoretical anyway, because a few meters distance between the devices is already enough to shrink the maximum throughputs back to the usual level.

2.4 GHz band

I tested the Internet throughput for the areas on the ground floor at two locations in the direct vicinity of the router/repeater (<=2 meters) and two rooms and three walls away, and also once with the Ethernet cable plugged in (NAS) for comparison. The Internet connection was always above 950 Mbit/s during the measurement period, which corresponds to about 119 MB/s. Since the net throughput rates in the client were always lower anyway, you can completely neglect the fluctuations here. Thanks to buffers in the applications, short drops are of little or no consequence. To Upper Floor stands close for the position directly next to the repeater and means then in the neighboring room (gas concrete wall with 240 mm). Wide then means as already in the ground floor two rooms further (three walls)

Since the penetration of the ceiling and staircase in the 2.4 GHz band is rather good, I could afford the second FRITZ!Repeater 6000 in the ground floor even save and optionally use no repeater at all. Streaming is a mixture of pure random data generated on the server (or the whole thing backwards as a write to the server from the notebook), which of course prevents any possible compression, but also fairly accurately replicates the reality of already compressed installation packages and multimedia streams. The overall result is quite good, but it could only be achieved early between 3 and 5 a.m., when other networks were just bobbing along in a data-empty mode. Otherwise, you can still deduct up to 30% in wide mode.

5 GHz band and Wi-Fi 5

I still measured the whole thing with the “old” setup, so that one can later also get to the direct comparison with single clients. The router used here is the FRITZ!Box 7590 active, the route up realize two really good FRITZ!Repeater 2400. The positions of the measuring points are the same, however, all this does not work at all without repeaters. We also see that the addition of the second repeater almost leads to some kind of performance explosion, which is why I’ve been running it that way permanently since 2019. Yes, it works, but sometimes the final performance is missing in the video studio. A bit more is allowed, even if it is actually complaining at a high level. As already written, it is MB/s not Mbit/s.

5 GHz band and Wi-Fi 6

After the conversion, the FRITZ!Box 4060 and the two FRITZ!Repeater 6000. Although I have in normal everyday life now both on the upper floor and on the ground floor (warehouse, kitchen) more FRITZ!Repeater 1200 AX in use, but not shown here in direct comparison. This would increase throughput by up to 20%, especially on the upper floor in the long-distance area. Or you can leave the thick doors open, which is certainly not a good idea in winter. But since I want to remain comparable, I’ll leave the additional repeaters out for now and keep the doors closed.

Summary and conclusion

All three devices used do exactly what they are supposed to, and that was certainly the manufacturer’s main concern. From this point of view, everything is completely in the green zone, and you can even call it a real performance booster. Wi-Fi 6 is not an all-purpose weapon for the walls, but it is a great thing for extremely heavy traffic with a lot of devices and possible interference factors. It’s simply more stable, you have to acknowledge that. The devices are like a really nice family, because they also communicate well with and among each other.

The FRITZ!Box 4060 is not a bad choice for those who already use an external modem from the cable or fiber provider. Except for a few details, everything is actually in and on it. What is needed for the FRITZ!Box 4060 is also the consistent continuation of all the FRITZ!OS updates. This, together with the service, is really solved in an exemplary manner, in contrast to almost all competitors, because errors are named transparently and also corrected quickly. The GUI is largely self-explanatory and also intuitive to learn.

With the otherwise flawless FRITZ!Box 4060, however, I am missing at least one more Ethernet port and unfortunately also the telephone jack (TAE). Otherwise, it would probably have been a real all-around happy device. However, together with the necessary small switch and the DECT-TAE converter (hard to get) for the fax part of the expensive multifunction laser, the power consumption increases in total compared to the FRITZ!Box 7590, which can do all that in one go, by up to 20 watts. The missing wall mount is then at least available from the third-party vendor.

The FRITZ!Repeater 6000 is the real cream of the whole collection. The built-in technology could also come from a professional device and the features to use the device as an access point or repeater via Ethernet as well as WLAN are really convincing. Even though the part no longer offers a real tri-band without an Ethernet connection to the router because the one 5 GHz channel virtually always acts as the exclusive router connection, it is still fast enough to beat the direct predecessor FRITZ!Repeater 3000 grandiose to outperform. Again, there is no wall mount ex works, but plenty of good humor. I’m also happy to give an explicit purchase tip for this, because the FRITZ!Repeater 6000 is simply good.

The FRITZ!Repeater 1200 AX is such a butter-and-bread device. The Wi-Fi 6 thing works, but that’s about it. At least there is nothing negative to report either, because the part is just completely conspicuously inconspicuous. That can certainly be taken as a compliment, but it is what it is. It works, even if you might expect a bit more elegance visually instead of the clunky cube design. Then it would certainly have worked with the socket under the light switch. But unfortunately, other devices also have this problem. Only it must be mentioned also times with. Maybe someone will listen to you.

All in all, then, the conversion has been more than a mere side-grade to a higher number. The gain in stability and performance is not as big as I might have dreamed, but it is not only measurably better, but also clearly noticeable in many situations in everyday life. Because the difference between usable and useless is not only defined by pure percentages, but solely by the success in daily use. And it was exactly this test that the overall setup passed really well. It’s like with GPU tests and Furmark, because who plays iPerf on the net all day? Well, at least I don’t. So it fits!

AVM FRITZ!Box 4060 (20002931)

	Auf Lager, Lieferzeit 1-2 Werktage	211,99 €*Stand: 18.05.24 21:33
	Lieferbar in 1-3 Werktagen	212,00 €*Stand: 18.05.24 19:40
	Auf Lager, Lieferzeit 1-2 Werktage	218,97 €*Stand: 18.05.24 22:44

*Alle Preise inkl. gesetzl. MwSt zzgl. Versandkosten und ggf. Nachnahmegebühren, wenn nicht anders beschriebenmit freundlicher Unterstützung von geizhals.de

AVM FRITZ!Repeater 6000 (20002908)

	Lieferbar ab 17.06.2024, Lieferzeit (sobald verfügbar): 1-2 Werktage	211,44 €*Stand: 18.05.24 21:33
	Lieferbar ab 17.06.2024, Lieferzeit (sobald verfügbar): 1-2 Werktage	218,28 €*Stand: 18.05.24 22:44
	Versandlager: lagernd, Lieferzeit 1-2 Werktage, 24h Express möglichGraz Nord, Graz Süd, Wien 15, Zentrale Timelkam: lagerndLinz, Salzburg, Wels: ca. 1 WerktagDornbirn, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, St. Pölten, Villach, Wien 20, Wr. Neustadt, Wörgl: ca. 2 WerktageStand: 19.05.24 00:00	219,00 €*Stand: 19.05.24 02:56

*Alle Preise inkl. gesetzl. MwSt zzgl. Versandkosten und ggf. Nachnahmegebühren, wenn nicht anders beschriebenmit freundlicher Unterstützung von geizhals.de

AVM FRITZ!Repeater 1200 AX (20002974)

	Lieferzeit 3-5 Werktage	69,00 €*Stand: 19.05.24 01:40
	Lieferzeit 5-6 Werktage	69,00 €*Stand: 19.05.24 01:40
	Auf Lager, Lieferzeit 1-2 Werktage	73,48 €*Stand: 18.05.24 21:33

*Alle Preise inkl. gesetzl. MwSt zzgl. Versandkosten und ggf. Nachnahmegebühren, wenn nicht anders beschriebenmit freundlicher Unterstützung von geizhals.de