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FRITZ!Box smart home integration, free and open source

FRITZ!Box integration for Gladys Assistant

Internet status and rates, guest Wi-Fi, who is home and phone calls of your FRITZ!Box.

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Connect your AVM FRITZ!Box to Gladys: internet status and rates, external IP, guest Wi-Fi that you can switch from Gladys, presence of the phones and computers you choose (who is home), and, if you want, your phone calls as scene triggers. Everything stays on your local network: the integration talks to the box through TR-064, the official interface documented by AVM, and the call monitor of the box. No cloud, no MyFRITZ! account.

Developed without the hardware: feedback welcome. The integration is covered by automated tests built on real answers of FRITZ!Boxes (collected by the fritzconnection library and Home Assistant), but it has not run against a real box yet. Tell us on the Gladys forum how it works with your model.

What you get​

  • A FRITZ!Box device:

    FeatureType in GladysShows
    Internetinput state (On/Off)On when the box is connected to the internet
    Downloadrate, in Mbit/scurrent incoming traffic of the line (history chart)
    Uploadrate, in Mbit/scurrent outgoing traffic
    Line ratesrate, in Mbit/s (two features)maximum download and upload rates of the line (DSL sync…)
    External IPtextpublic IPv4 address of the box
    Connection timeduration, in minutestime since the last (re)connection
    Guest Wi-Fiswitchon/off, controllable from Gladys
    Reconnectpush buttona new internet connection (a new IP on most DSL lines)

  • One device per network device you choose (phone, computer, tablet…), with a Presence feature: present while the box sees it connected, away after a delay you set.

  • A dashboard widget FRITZ!Box: rates, internet status, guest Wi-Fi with its button, who is home, and a Reconnect internet button.

  • Scene triggers Incoming call, Missed call, Call ended (with the number and the name from the phone book of the box), Internet connection restored and External IP changed.

  • Scene actions Turn on the guest Wi-Fi (for a while if you want, with its name and password for a message to your guests), Turn off the guest Wi-Fi and Reconnect the internet.

Requirements​

  • Gladys Assistant 5.1.0 or later.
  • A FRITZ!Box with FRITZ!OS 7 or later (FRITZ!OS 6.x boxes answer TR-064 too, with fewer details), reachable from the Gladys machine. FRITZ!Repeaters and boxes used as a mesh repeater only get the guest Wi-Fi and presence features.
  • A FRITZ!Box user with a password, and the right FRITZ!Box Settings (German interface: FRITZ!Box Einstellungen). For the names of the callers, also the right Voice messages, faxes, FRITZ!App Fon and call list (Sprachnachrichten, Faxnachrichten, FRITZ!App Fon und Anrufliste).
  • During the installation, Gladys asks you to allow the SSDP search for urn:dslforum-org:device:InternetGatewayDevice:1: it lets the integration find the box without its address.

Configuration​

Prepare the FRITZ!Box​

Open the interface of the box (http://fritz.box):

  1. Home Network > Network > Network Settings (Heimnetz > Netzwerk > Netzwerkeinstellungen): tick Allow access for applications (Zugriff für Anwendungen zulassen) and Transmit status information over UPnP (Statusinformationen über UPnP übertragen, needed for the current rates). Apply.
  2. System > FRITZ!Box Users (System > FRITZ!Box-Benutzer): add a user for Gladys, with a password and the rights listed above. A dedicated user is better than your own: you can remove it at any time.
  3. For the phone calls only: on a phone connected to the box (analog, DECT or IP phone), dial #96*5* to switch the call monitor on (#96*4* switches it off).

Settings​

In Integrations → FRITZ!Box → Configuration:

SettingDefaultEffect
Address of the FRITZ!BoxemptyEmpty: the box is found on the network (then fritz.box). Otherwise its IP address or name.
FRITZ!Box user name—The user created above.
Password—Its password.
Encrypted connection (HTTPS)offPort 49443 instead of 49000. The certificate of the box is not checked.
Refresh interval30 sHow often the box is read (10 s to 5 min).
Away after3 minHow long a device may be missing from the box before it is shown away.
Phone calls (call monitor)offEnables the call triggers (call monitor of the box, port 1012).
Language of the feature namesFrenchNames of the features of new devices, and language of the messages.

Then run Test the connection: it shows the model of the box, its FRITZ!OS, the internet status and the number of connected devices, or tells you what to fix.

Add the box and your devices​

Open the Discover tab of the integration. It lists the FRITZ!Box and the devices connected to it right now (the box knows many more, but only the connected ones are proposed: a phone appears when it is on the Wi-Fi). Click Add to Gladys on the box and on each device to follow. The Scan button reads the list of the box again.

Devices​

The FRITZ!Box​

  • Internet is On when the connection is established (Connected for the box), Off otherwise.
  • Download and Upload are the current traffic of the line, in Mbit/s, read at each refresh. They need Transmit status information over UPnP: without it, the configuration says so and the two features stay empty.
  • Line download rate and Line upload rate are the maximum rates of the line (the DSL synchronization, or the rates of the cable or fiber contract).
  • External IP is the public IPv4 address. Behind a carrier-grade NAT (some fiber and cable providers, DS-Lite), it is an address of the provider, not reachable from the internet.
  • Connection time counts the minutes since the last connection (it restarts at each reconnection: the nightly disconnection of many German DSL lines shows here).
  • Guest Wi-Fi switches the guest access of the box (the last Wi-Fi network of the box, as Home Assistant does). Configure it once in the box (Wi-Fi > Guest Access, name and password).
  • Reconnect ends the internet connection; the box dials again at once. On DSL (PPPoE), the provider usually gives a new IP; on cable or fiber, the address often stays the same. The internet is cut for a few seconds.

Only the changes are published, and every value again every 12 hours, so that a stable value never shows "No recent value".

Network devices (presence)​

Each device you added has a Presence feature: present (1) as soon as the box lists it as connected, away (0) once it has been missing for the Away after delay. Phones asleep on Wi-Fi leave the list for a few minutes: keep 3 to 10 minutes for them. A computer plugged by cable is seen at once.

To mark a person at home, use the presence feature of their phone in a scene: Device state change on Presence → User seen at home, with Execute only when threshold is passed ticked (the state is sent again every 12 hours).

Dashboard widget​

Edit dashboard → add a widget → FRITZ!Box. The widget shows the current download and upload rates (live tiles once the box is added to Gladys), how many followed devices are home, the internet status with the connection time, the guest Wi-Fi (with the time left when it was turned on for a while) and each followed device (home or away). Devices shown chooses which ones (empty: all, 8 at most next to the internet and guest Wi-Fi rows). Two buttons: Turn on / Turn off guest Wi-Fi and Reconnect internet (which asks for a confirmation). The widget never shows the public IP nor MAC addresses: a dashboard can be shown to visitors.

Scene triggers​

TriggerWhenVariables
Incoming callthe phone ringsPhone number, Name (phone book), Your number
Missed callan incoming call ended without anyone answering (or the answering machine took it)the same, plus Seconds of ringing and Answering machine (1/0)
Call endedan answered call ended, incoming or outgoingthe same, plus Direction (incoming/outgoing) and Duration (s)
Internet connection restoredthe box is connected again after an outageOutage (seconds), External IP
External IP changedthe public IPv4 address changedNew IP, Previous IP

The call triggers need the Phone calls setting and the call monitor of the box (#96*5*). They can be limited to one caller (Caller number) or to one of your numbers (Your number), written as the box shows them (the call list of the box shows the format). The name comes from the phone books of the box; an unknown number gives the number itself, a hidden number gives "Hidden number" (in the language of the configuration).

For "the internet is down", use the core trigger Device state change on the Internet feature, value Off, with the threshold box ticked. A message sent at that moment may not leave the house: send it when the connection is back, with Internet connection restored and its outage duration.

Scene actions​

  • Turn on the guest Wi-Fi: optional Turn off after (minutes) (empty or 0: stays on, at most 1440). The integration switches it off at the end, even after a restart. Results: Guest Wi-Fi name and Guest Wi-Fi password, to send to your guests in a message. Turning it on or off by hand cancels the timer.
  • Turn off the guest Wi-Fi.
  • Reconnect the internet: with Wait until reconnected, the next steps start once the box is connected again, or after 100 seconds (Gladys gives an action 120 seconds at most). Results: Connected (1/0), External IP and New IP (1/0).

The results are numbers (1/0) so that Condition on variables can compare them: pick the result, =, and type 1.

Scene examples​

  1. Guests are coming: Scheduled trigger on Saturday at 19:00 → Turn on the guest Wi-Fi for 300 minutes → Send Message "Guest Wi-Fi: [name], password [password]" (insert the two results from the variable list).
  2. Nobody home: Device state change on Presence of each phone, value No presence, threshold ticked → Check user presence → turn the lights off, lower the heating.
  3. Missed call: Missed call → Send Message "Missed call from [name] ([phone number])".
  4. Outage report: Internet connection restored → Send Message "The internet was down for [outage] seconds".

Troubleshooting​

  • "The FRITZ!Box refuses applications": tick Allow access for applications in Home Network > Network > Network Settings.
  • "The FRITZ!Box refused the user name or password": check the user and its password in System > FRITZ!Box Users. After a refusal, the integration waits 15 minutes before trying again (the box blocks logins for longer and longer after failures), or until you change the configuration.
  • "The FRITZ!Box user lacks the FRITZ!Box Settings right": give it this right; without it the guest Wi-Fi and the device list cannot be read.
  • "Current rates unavailable": tick Transmit status information over UPnP.
  • "No FRITZ!Box found" or "does not answer": enter the IP address of the box (often 192.168.178.1) in Address of the FRITZ!Box. The network search needs the SSDP access accepted at the installation, and does not cross routers or VLANs.
  • "The call monitor is off": dial #96*5* on a phone connected to the box.
  • A phone shows away while it is home: it sleeps on Wi-Fi; raise Away after to 10 or 15 minutes. Recent phones use a private Wi-Fi address: it stays the same for a given network (iOS "Fixed", Android "Use randomized MAC" per network), but a "Rotating" address creates a new device every few days: choose a fixed one for your home Wi-Fi.
  • The guest Wi-Fi does nothing: configure the guest access once in the box (Wi-Fi > Guest Access).

Limits​

  • Developed without the hardware: see above.
  • One FRITZ!Box per installation of the integration. The FRITZ!Repeaters of a mesh are not read (the devices they serve appear in the list of the box all the same).
  • FRITZ!SmartHome (DECT plugs and thermostats) is not covered: it will be another integration.
  • The current rates come from the UPnP status of the box, refreshed at the chosen interval: they are a snapshot, not an average.
  • External IPv4 only; the IPv6 prefix is not shown.
  • The presence of a device is what the box knows: a phone with Wi-Fi off, or connected to another network, is away.
  • What the integration stores, in /data/state.json of its container: the address of the box found by the search, its serial number, the last external IP and the end of a guest Wi-Fi timer. The password stays in the Gladys configuration; phone numbers and names are never written to disk nor to the logs.
  • Rate of requests: each refresh sends 4 to 6 small requests to the box (default every 30 s).

Configuration settings​

These are the settings FRITZ!Box asks for in its configuration screen in Gladys.

SettingTypeRequiredDescription
Connect your FRITZ!BoxsectionNoIn the FRITZ!Box (http://fritz.box): enable "Allow access for applications" and "Transmit status information over UPnP" in Home Network > Network > Network Settings, and create a user with the "FRITZ!Box Settings" right in System > FRITZ!Box Users. Then run "Test the connection" and add the box and your devices in the Discover tab.
Address of the FRITZ!BoxstringNoLeave empty to find it automatically on the network.
FRITZ!Box user namestringYesA user of System > FRITZ!Box Users, with the "FRITZ!Box Settings" right.
PasswordsecretYes
Encrypted connection (HTTPS)booleanNoPort 49443 instead of 49000. The box's own certificate is not checked.
Refresh intervalselectNoHow often the box is read (status, rates, connected devices).
Away afterselectNoTime a device may be missing from the box before it is shown away. Phones asleep on Wi-Fi drop off for a few minutes.
Phone calls (call monitor)booleanNoScene triggers for incoming, missed and ended calls. First dial #965 on a phone connected to the FRITZ!Box.
Language of the feature namesselectNoNames given to the features of new devices, and language of the messages.

How to install FRITZ!Box in Gladys​

  1. In Gladys, open Integrations: FRITZ!Box appears in the catalog, next to the native integrations, with a community badge.
  2. Click Install. Gladys pulls the Docker image (ghcr.io/guim31/gladys-fritzbox:1.0.1), starts it in a sandbox isolated from the core, and generates the integration's interface (devices, discovery and configuration).
  3. Open the Configuration screen of the integration, fill in the settings, and save.
  4. You can also install it directly from its repository URL: https://github.com/guim31/gladys-fritzbox.

FRITZ!Box requires Gladys >=5.1.0. The catalog inside Gladys refreshes every hour, so a new version becomes available at most one hour after its release.

Not running Gladys yet? It is free and open source: follow the installation guide to get started.

About external integrations​

FRITZ!Box is an external integration: a community integration packaged as a Docker container and published on GitHub, that Gladys installs in one click and runs in a sandbox isolated from its core. It is published and maintained by guim31, not by the Gladys core team.

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