Two powerful routers for the cable network.The Vodafone Station stands for reliable internet.The Fritzbox 6690 Cable is suitable for higher demands.I tested the Vodafone station at home for a year and am as surprised as I am impressed by the reliability.Because new Vodafone customers get the router for little money or sometimes even free of charge, the question arises: What else can the premium router Fritzbox 6690 Cable, which costs around 300 euros, actually do more?The answer: speed and first-class services – but not everyone needs that.Let's take a quick look at the specs and features of the two routers:Here you can see that both routers actually serve excellently as reliable WLAN radio stations.However, the Vodafone station does not offer much more than that apart from two telephone connections. Meanwhile, the Fritzbox 6690 Cable has many comfort functions.A cable router for about 300 euros - there must be a reason.Manufacturer AVM primarily mentions WiFi 6, Docsis 3.1, a theoretical transmission rate of 4,800 Mbit/s over the 5 GHz network and the support of 4×4 WLAN ax for the Fritzbox 6690 Cable.But that's actually nothing special in 2022 and the Vodafone station can do most of it too.An advantage over the Vodafone station: The Fritzbox 6690 Cable can also be used as a telephone system.Especially through the support of 6 Dect devices - which is particularly suitable for cordless phones, but also for smart home devices such as sockets and thermostats from AVM.AVM integrates 5 answering machines into the user interface.The software also supports Voice to Mail.You can use the Fritzbox to send and receive faxes – still popular in 2022. Callers can also use the phone app to reach you on your landline via smartphone.Above all, the Fritbox 6690 Cable supports mesh WLAN.You can use additional devices to increase the range of your WLAN and thus achieve the same transmission rates with a connection in the furthest corner of your home as near the router.Normally you need an access point as an additional device if you want to retrofit mesh WLAN and other WiFi 6 functions.But that is already included in this Fritzbox.And then there are functions that go beyond the possibilities of a classic router like the Vodafone station.The Fritzbox 6690 Cable can serve as a NAS/media server - you can save pictures or videos there and stream them to any device in your home.To expand the internal memory of at least 3 GB, you can connect a USB stick or an external hard drive to one of the two USB 3.0 ports.And not to be forgotten: the integrated DVB-C tuner.You can use it to stream the current TV or radio program to a laptop, tablet or smartphone, so you can watch TV live there without a television:The Vodafone station cannot do all that.However, provider Vodafone does not claim to be, speaks of a solid basic router and offers customers other routers as well as the somewhat reduced Fritzbox 6660 Cable as a more expensive alternative.I actually have to compliment both router manufacturers here: Both the user interface of the Vodafone station and the FritzOS of the Fritzbox 6690 Cable are clear, tidy and versatile.I've had network devices in the test that were so difficult to use or didn't offer any setting options that I wanted to exchange them.This is absolutely not the case with both routers here.And even if you like one interface better than the other, you'll be fine with both.My only real suggestion for improvement for both systems would be a real timer.In other words, one that can not only switch off the WLAN temporarily, because that only saves a few watts.But one that puts the router to sleep completely, for example at night.In another post we show you that routers are real power guzzlers and how you can save money with them.The Vodafone station has a very clear user interface.It offers diagnostic tools and can assist you in selecting a less busy WiFi channel for you.The only thing that can be a bit confusing is that you have to confirm each command before it becomes active.Especially since you don't always see the "Apply" button at first glance, but sometimes have to scroll down for it.The Fritzbox 6690 Cable offers a few more diagnostic tools and setting options in its user interface.In addition, access to the Fritz.NAS or the MyFritz Smart Home interface.The numerous setting options of the Fritzbox are great.Personally, I find the UI of the Vodafone Station even a little clearer - but that should ultimately be a matter of taste.The Vodafone station in subtle anthracite, the Fritzbox 6690 Cable in white and red.Both routers are chic in their own way.In addition, they offer many connections and can also be easily controlled from the outside via easily tactile control buttons.Both devices stand upright - which offers good wireless properties for the integrated antennas.On the front of both devices there are some control buttons and the LEDs.The latter can also be switched off in the software interface.However, the Vodafone station lights are so subtle that they are hardly noticeable:On the back, both routers offer ports galore.But be careful: only the USB slots of the Fritzbox 6690 Cable allow you to integrate memory into the system.The Vodafone Station USB slot can only charge USB devices, nothing more:The sides of the two routers don't offer much more than a little design and branding from the manufacturers.In the Vodafone station you will find two holes for wall mounting if desired.However, the holes in the housing of the Fritzbox are also used for ventilation.Comparable ventilation slots can be found in the Vodafone Station at the top and bottom of the housing.Both routers got a little warm when sitting on my window sill in the summer, but not really hot.I measured an average power consumption of around 25 watts for the Vodafone station and a little under 20 watts for the Vodafone station.Cable routers typically draw slightly more power than DSL routers.It's lapping.Maybe it comes as a surprise, maybe not.Both routers deliver almost the same results in my broadband measurement - and they are consistently good.Both routers still get a good, satisfactory signal even in my kitchen, which is almost a dead spot, in the kitchen, as well as in front of the house, in the next room or on the floor below the router.Surprisingly, however, the Fritzbox weakens a little when measuring in my stairwell 2 floors below the room in which the router is located.The Vodafone station even achieves the better result here.The values ​​in comparison, measured with the FritzBox WLAN app:Both cable routers are reliable, but you pay extra for the convenience and additional functions of the Fritzbox 6690 Cable.And that should be worthwhile for demanding users.If you don't need all that and just want stable WiFi, you won't go wrong with the Vodafone station on the cable connection.Fresh daily at 5 p.m. in the mailboxChanges possible at any time via the subscription management - other topics availableFurther information on the use of your data for advertising purposes can be found in our data protection declaration.Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.Select topics - fresh daily at 5 p.m. in your mailboxEURONICS on social networksI can't understand why the Vodafone station is reliable, I was forced to get it from Vodafone because my cable modem was too old.From the first day of use, there were constant problems with the internet, either it was extremely slow or it kept dropping out completely.After restarting the router, it worked again until the next fault.I thought maybe the router had a defect and after complaining to Vodafone I had a new one sent to me and what happened was exactly the same problems as with the first router.When researching the internet, I found a lot of people who did the same thing.I bit the bullet and got myself a Fritzbox Cable at my own expense and lo and behold all problems were no longer there since then.My conclusion, the Vodafone station is probably a cheaply cobbled together and unreliable piece of technology.Everything you wrote fits me 1 to 1.Before I had the white Unitymedia box, then I got the station.Catastrophe.I then had the 6660 sent to me and the problems were gone immediately.Haven't had any more problems since.Vodafone station absolute disaster!So I also had both devices in use or instead of the Fritzbox generation before that mentioned and I have to say that the Vodafone station is simply bad.Very unstable, especially the WiFi performance.My network printer (via LAN cable) didn't work either, directly with the Fritzbox without any problems.Regardless of whether you are a network professional or a beginner, the FritzBox is simply the better option.Even the 4.99 per month is worth it to me.With the Vodafone station I regularly had nervous breakdowns.And just because the specs sound the same, the underlying hardware is crapSubscribe to comments for this post as an RSS feedPlease be patient.We review your comment before it appears on the site.We delete spam comments, advertising and insults, especially if they contain links.Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked with *Are you interested in one or more topics in our blog and don't want to miss any more posts?No problem: just subscribe to our free newsletter and we will send you new posts automatically!You can either select all posts or just certain topics.Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.Are you interested in one or more topics in our blog and don't want to miss any more posts?No problem: just subscribe to our free newsletter and we will send you new posts automatically!You can either select all posts or just certain topics.Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.If you do not want to subscribe to our newsletter, you can alternatively read our posts in your feed reader.The following general feeds are available:You can also subscribe to individual topics:Select topics - 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