The Fritz!box 7560 isn’t your average bog standard beige router. It carries the eye catching Fritz!Box red design and is loaded with the excellent Fritz!OS.
In fact it’s not just a router, it’s also a full telephone system and can act as a NAS thanks to a USB port on the side.
There are 4 x gigabyte LAN ports on the back (which can be set to run at a slower speed eco mode), as well as a phone in port for your telephone line.
On the top is the expected WPS pairing button, next to which is a DECT button for pairing handsets.
It comes with a telephone cable, network cable and UK power plug (which might seem obvious but previous versions shipped with EU power plugs).
If you’ve ever used something like Virgin’s Superhub 3 router you’ll understand how frustrating a slow interface can be. That isn’t something you’ll find on the 7560, the Fritz!OS is silky smooth and makes the setup process a doddle.
The 7560 can be used as a replacement DLS modem router (for example if you’re with BT), or can replace the router element of the Virgin Superhub, which need to be placed into modem mode (via the slow interface).
After following the setup wizard you’re free to explore the Fritz!OS interface. The range of options and information available to you is incredible and to get the most out of the 7560 you’ll want to spend some time looking through the different menus.
The 7560 gives you absolutely loads of features, check out the review video below for an overview, there are several that stand out as being very handy for both home and office use.
For home use you can set access restrictions per device. For example if you don’t want your child to be staring at InstaSnapBook at 10pm you can block access on that tablet/mobile between 10pm and 7am without impeding your own devices.
In a similar manner, but perhaps better suited for business, you can have the WiFi network shut down and come back up automatically when your workplace is closed for business. You can also offer a guest network for home/work visitors.
As you’ll see in the video the 7560 offers a range of telephony options, keep in mind if you’re with Virgin your phone line might not be in the same location as your internet connection and that you’ll need to have CallerID on your line to make the most of many of the features available.
Being internet connected there are a number of apps available to make the most of the features available. For example one app allows your mobile to become part of your phone system.
If all this sounds a little overwhelming don’t worry, the Fritz!OS is a lovely bit of software that explains the features available and has a number of wizards included to help get you started.
At the time of review the 7560 initially had Fritz!OS version 6.69 but was quickly upgraded to 6.83.
The Fritz!Box brand isn’t well known in the UK yet, but with solid, feature rich, products such as the 7560 that could be set to change, for a price. All of the technology and features make this an expensive router, but actually could be considered a low cost telephone system.
Having lived with a Superhub 3 all I can ask is that if anyone from Virgin media is reading this, please PLEASE use this for the Superhub 4!
The Fritz!Box 7560 is available from Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2pCpKaN
Fritz!box 7560 with Fritz!OS Review
