FRITZ!Box 6860 5g Review: Brilliant in its Niche

Need an internet connection via Wi-Fi in a place with little or no coverage? Fritz understands your problem and comes with a powerful solution, provided you fit within the niche situation.

First, a bit of homework: don’t say AVM anymore, but Fritz. The brand name AVM has been sent to the eternal hunting grounds. Fritz is what you call the brand from now on. Officially it’s FRITZ!, but we don’t like shouting in texts. So just Fritz.

Extra confusing: is it officially FRITZ! FRITZ!Box 6860 5G? Or just FRITZ!Box 6860 5G? We’ve guessed the latter.

In short, the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G (419 euros including VAT) is a Wi-Fi router that also fits a SIM card and supports 5G. It’s also Fritz’s first product that you can place outdoors. Not completely outdoors, but in a protected outdoor environment. This makes this solution a product that appeals to a very specific niche. If you happen to fall into that niche, this is an excellent solution.

Just Call it Fritz

5G solutions that can be used as Wi-Fi hotspots, the so-called ‘mifi solutions’, are not new. Being able to install one permanently, outdoors, and connect a few phones that use the number associated with the SIM card, that is unique.

Fritz is the odd one out among all router manufacturers. The big advantage is that they’re German and must comply with GDPR with strict controls. Chinese brands theoretically must do this too, but you’re never 100 percent certain. The latter often bring extremely cheap devices to market. Fritz opts more for durability, not for the lowest price.

On top of that, Fritz wants to do things thoroughly (Germans, right?). Every product they release is packed with features thanks to the overarching FRITZ!OS operating system. No other router manufacturer even comes close to what Fritz does. That has its advantages, but also its disadvantages. More on that later.

Flexible Installation Thanks to PoE

First, let’s take a closer look at the device itself. The FRITZ!Box 6860 5G can be mounted in various ways. It comes with a holder that you can stick to the window using the included double-sided adhesive tape. The box includes a flat network cable that can be laid indoors with most window installations.

Would you rather screw the 5G router in place? That’s also possible with the same holder. If you’re going to use the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G indoors, you can use the included stand.

Because outdoors is an important focus point, this router uses Power over Ethernet (PoE). There’s a PoE injector in the box so you can go from a power outlet to a network cable to power the router.

Do you already have network cable laid somewhere? That’s all you need – connect the injector (or a full PoE switch) at one end and connect it to the network. On the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G side, you don’t need anything else. The included PoE injector has an extra network connection to seamlessly install the solution into the network if needed.

Splash-proof IP54

Important to know: the router is only IP54 certified. Specifically, the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G is dust-proof, but not completely waterproof. Officially it’s splash-proof. Fritz says the solution can withstand a downpour and recommends a protected outdoor environment.

For example, don’t place it on the roof or against a wall without shelter. Then the installation is no longer ‘protected’. We wanted to test that anyway, and after a test period of four months unprotected, the router still works excellently.

Don’t tempt fate and hang the router correctly with the connection facing downward. If you don’t do that, water will quickly run in through the bottom. The space around the network cable isn’t completely sealed with rubber, for example, allowing water to flow in easily.

Simple Installation

5G is what it’s all about and why the recommended price of 419 euros including VAT is so high (along with the IP54 certification). The biggest difficulty is inserting the SIM card (nano format). After three attempts, it clicked into place. Not very intuitive, especially since you’re afraid the SIM card might fall inside on your first try. Fortunately, that never happens.

The software installation couldn’t be simpler. Connect to your PC via Wi-Fi and type fritz.box in your browser’s address bar. After that, you only need to go through a handful of steps, sometimes wait a few minutes, and you have a FRITZ!Box 6860 5G connected to the mobile network.

The box includes a card where you can find the color codes. Blue means 5G, green means 4G, and yellow is Wi-Fi. There are three bars that can change color, just like on your smartphone, to show the strength of the coverage.

It takes a total of about ten minutes to get everything configured, of which we have to wait about seven because the module needs to restart multiple times.

Proprietary Operating System

The cream of the crop in router land is FRITZ!OS, the operating system that runs on every Fritz network solution. You’ll notice right from the initial installation that you’re guided through clear steps. Fritz already has the correct settings for many operators on board. We were able to connect with just one click of the button with both Orange and Proximus.

Once the installation is complete, you’ll discover just how extensive FRITZ!OS really is. Telephone exchange? Check. Control and automation of smart home devices? Check. Dozens of network settings presented in an organized way? Check.

The 5G information has seven tabs, all packed with information. Thoroughly solid, as you’d expect from Germans. Those who don’t care about it can ignore it and won’t miss anything. For those who want to dive deeper, Fritz is very gratifying because of the numerous settings across the board.

Nice bonus: support for mesh Wi-Fi. Already have Fritz hardware at home? Then you can continue to expand it with mesh-compatible devices to have seamless Wi-Fi everywhere in your home or office. Good to know: every device you can find in Fritz’s store today is mesh-compatible. Chances are that your device at home is too, even if that model is already five years old. FRITZ!OS is supported for an exceptionally long time by Fritz.

Telephone Exchange

A quick word about the integrated telephone exchange. You can buy IP or DECT phones from Fritz and connect them to the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G. In this specific case, you can connect up to six handsets AND make calls using the phone number of the installed SIM card.

Want to go a step further? The telephone exchange also supports VoIP and SIP numbers and even some door intercoms. Why the latter? This way you can directly see who’s at the door on a handset, talk to them, and possibly open the door remotely if that’s supported.

Wi-Fi Performance

On board the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G is Wi-Fi 6 that can broadcast on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz via a 4×4 MIMO antenna configuration. Theoretically, you can download up to 2.4 Gbps. In practice, we record a maximum result of 665 Mbps when we stand next to the device with a Google Pixel 9 or HP Zbook Ultra G1a.

At a distance of 8 meters, still in the same room, the speed drops to 126 Mbps. If we go to 10 meters with a door in between, we measure 91 Mbps. At 15 meters with a door in between, we measure only 28 Mbps. From 15 meters with an extra wall in between, the coverage drops off. These performances are in line with expectations.

By default, the FRITZ!Box 6860 5G chooses whether you connect to the 5 GHz network or the 2.4 GHz network, depending on your device and the distance. The router also always looks for the best interference-free Wi-Fi channel. Would you rather have that control yourself? In FRITZ!OS, you can decouple the networks so that two networks are visible when you search for Wi-Fi.

Conclusion

The FRITZ!Box 6860 5G (419 euros excluding VAT) is the complete package with many advantages: 5G, IP54, FRITZ!OS, and ease of use. You can even still use the SIM card in the device to remain reachable via the telephone exchange.

All these goodies come with a hefty price tag, but we don’t mind that so much. The reason is that it’s a niche solution. If you fall within the target group for this device, then this router is a godsend.

If you don’t need one of the above functions, for example 5G, then there are cheaper access points that you can install outdoors and are more weather-resistant. Looking for a 5G solution, but there’s enough coverage indoors and the router doesn’t need to hang outside? Then there are again cheaper solutions. Want everything in one and do you fall into that niche? Then you shouldn’t hesitate.