Review AVM FRITZ!Box 6850 LTE Router: full-fledged multifunctional router

The new way of working is working from home. The location does not matter as long as the internet connection is good. How nice would it be to move your workplace and rent a house or apartment at home or abroad. Also during the holiday it is important to spoil yourself and your travel companions with good internet. Naturally, this solution can also be used in locations where the wired internet connection leaves something to be desired or is not even available. All you need is a professional router capable of connecting over 4G LTE or over 3G UMTS/HSPA+. Instead of linking with a cable, for such a router you need a SIM card with a standard subscription, such as the one you use in your phone, or a prepaid unlimited or limited data card with the number of gigabytes you think you will use. If you are short of GBs, you upgrade.

This AVM FRITZ!Box 6850 LTE router has a large standard SIM slot. With 4G LTE, also called the Plus version with support for all frequencies in the Netherlands and the EU, theoretical speeds of up to 350/100 Mbps for download and upload are possible. For the old 3G, these are 21/6 Mbps. In practice, those values ​​depend on the provider, the distance from the transmission tower and other environmental factors. The 6850 supports up to ten concurrent users.

The FRITZ!Box 6850 is a full-fledged router. It features four switched 1Gbps Ethernet ports and Wi-Fi 5 (AC1200). In addition, we see a full-fledged DECT telephone exchange for IP telephony with support for six digital telephones and one analog, VPN client and server, USB 3.0 port for printer, fax or central storage (mini-NAS), Media server, Smart Home integration and optional expansion with a Mesh network. Two 3dBi antennas are included and the SMA connection is also available for an outdoor antenna when 4G coverage lags. Operation is via a web interface with user-friendly menus for management activities and retrieval of a variety of data. Additionally, there are a number of useful Fritz apps for both iOS and Android.

TO TEST
We test the 6850 in practice. We must first place a Vodafone Prepaid Data SIM in a telephone in order to initiate the data connection. Then the SIM card can be inserted into the router and we connect the mains voltage. A menu for setting the language and provider follows.
What we primarily want to know are the practical values ​​that this router achieves with the Internet. According to the LTE information, with the mentioned sim we achieve a down/up transmission speed of 110/40 Mbps. The effective download and upload speed comes, with Speedtest, at 53/25 Mbps. With this type of connection, the delay time or ping time is also important, which amounts to 29 ms. There has never been anything to complain about the WiFi range of FRITZ! routers, and so not with this unit.

In summary: a solid and functionally rich and advanced LTE router for locations where an internet connection with sufficient stability and bandwidth is lacking. Note that a linked computer already uses about 8 MB per hour due to the background processes and that an unlimited bundle is desirable for streaming. Data usage is tracked in the 6850’s Online Monitor.

Product: AVM FRITZ!Box 6850 LTE Router