AVM’s Fritz!Box is a very complete modem/router with a built-in telephone exchange. You can do a lot more with that than just calling. AVM has developed an entire home automation line around this Dect telephone technology. A smart switch (AVM Fritz!Dect 440) and RGB LED lamp (AVM Fritz!Dect 500) are the latest additions.
AVM Fritz!Dect 440 and 500
price Fritz!Dect 440: €59 Fritz!Dect 500: €39
Color range 2700-6500K
Fitting E27
Energy label A+ (1-9 Watts)
Communication Dec ULE
Website https://nl.avm.de
8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Stable operation
- nice app
- Handy
- Negatives
- Only works with Fritz!Box
- Only E27 bulbs
- Still limited Fritz!Dect range
Many Fritz!Boxes (not every one!) have a built-in Dect telephone exchange. Dect has ample bandwidth and range for home and (small) office use to pass on switching and sensor information. In addition, the Dect technology is more stable and much more energy-efficient than, for example, WiFi. That is why AVM has built its smart home product line around this.
Secure locally or in the German cloud
In terms of apps, AVM has done well. The apps are easy to operate and the setup is also easy to do. The big advantage is security and privacy. Everything is in the German cloud and you can set up and operate everything locally if you wish. So you don’t suffer from a privacy-robbing Chinese cloud that you encounter with most affordable smart home products.
Fritz!Dect 440
The Fritz!Dect is nice and compact and has a small, energy-efficient but very easy to read e-ink screen that shows the humidity and temperature in the ‘rest mode’. To save the easily exchangeable AAA batteries, this data is refreshed regularly, but not continuously. You can program the four buttons by connecting one device or even entire groups. There are three ‘pages’ so in total you can control twelve devices or groups. A magnetic adhesive holder is included in case you want to hang it on the wall.
Fritz!Dect 500
Connecting the Fritz!Dect 500 is also a breeze. Twist the bulb in, switch it on, press the Dect button on the Fritz!Box for at least six seconds within two minutes and they find each other. I find it the most pleasant as a white lamp, also because it has the most light output. You can choose multiple colors and color tones in both the ‘white’ mode and the color mode. Mixing a color yourself by means of a color wheel is not possible. You can adjust the brightness.
Conclusion
In terms of user-friendliness and operation, the Fritz!Dect products leave little to be desired. The installation and app are fine. The big Achilles heel is that the range of lamps and other smart things in the Fritz!Dect line is still very limited and that you need a Fritz!Box router for it. They are quite expensive, especially as a ‘router-for-there’. That’s fine, by the way, behind my OpenWRT router I have an older Fritz!Box 7490 that functions as a switch and smart home hub for the Dect stuff. So if you can buy a second-hand Fritz!Box for a reasonable amount of money, you have a very stable and smooth-to-operate smarthome system.
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