FritzBox: Saving electricity – this is how you reduce electricity consumption

Show FritzBox power consumption

WLAN off – also by time switch

If the WLAN of the FritzBox is switched off, the function does not consume any electricity – logically. The easiest way to do this manually is to press a button on the router. In the menu, switch off the WLAN by clicking under WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS and Radio network the tick at 2.4 GHz frequency band active and 5 GHz frequency band active remove. Click to confirm Take. With a connected phone, switch the WLAN off with the key combination # 96 * 0 * or on with # 96 * 1 *. The “MyFritzApp” allows switching outside of the home network. The FritzBox also has a timer – so it automatically switches off the WLAN at specified times. Practical if you can do without the radio connection at night, for example. You can do this in the menu under WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS and Timer. Activate the option Use time switch for the WLAN radio network, set sleep times for the WiFi, and finally click Apply.

FritzBox power consumption: DECT and LAN

The speed of the LAN connections can also be adjusted. Newer FritzBoxes usually manage 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) via LAN. If, for example, a device is connected to the FritzBox via a network cable that only manages or needs 100 Mbps, nothing speaks against reducing the speed of the connection. To do this, select in the menu Home network, network and the rider Network settings. Here LAN connections can be switched from “Power Mode” (1,000 Mbps) to “Green Mode” (100 Mbps). Confirm by clicking on Take.

Energy saving mode for USB hard drives

Many FritzBoxes allow printers and storage media to be connected to the router via USB. If you want to send a connected USB hard drive to energy-saving mode, you can find it in the menu under Home network, USB / memory and the rider USB settings the possibility to switch USB connections from “Power Mode” (USB 3.0) to “Green Mode” (USB 2.0). Under “Energy saving function for USB hard disks” you can alternatively specify whether the FritzBox should automatically switch the hard disk to energy saving mode after a certain period of time when it is inactive. Finally confirm your changes with Take.

Bad idea: change WiFi transmission power

In the FritzBox menu can be found under WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS, Radio channel and More settings reduce the “maximum transmission power” of the WLAN. Better to leave the option alone and keep the setting 100% because devices that are far away receive a poorer WiFi signal with a lower transmission power. The FritzBox then has to send longer until the corresponding devices have received data – in the worst case, this even increases power consumption.