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Knowledge Base document #228

Prioritizing internet access for important network applications and devices in the FRITZ!Box

The FRITZ!Box automatically prioritizes real-time communication such as telephony and video calls; no settings are necessary.

You can additionally specify which network devices and applications are treated with high priority or low priority when accessing the internet. For example, you can ensure optimal response times for online games, even when a data synchronization with online storage services is taking place in the peer-to-peer services are using the internet connection. Prioritizing applications this way is also called Quality of service (QoS).

Observe the following information on the FRITZ!Box's prioritization categories and then carry out the described measures one after the other.

Note:On your smartphone or tablet you can also prioritize individual devices as real-time applications in the 'Home Network' menu in the MyFRITZ!App.

Requirements / Restrictions

  • Prioritization is not possible when the FRITZ!Box is used as a Mesh Repeater or in IP client mode. In this case, prioritize internet access in the Mesh Master or in your router.
  • Devices in the guest network cannot be prioritized.

Note:All instructions on configuration and settings given in this guide refer to the latest FRITZ!OS for the FRITZ!Box.

1 The FRITZ!Box's prioritization categories

In the FRITZ!Box, you can prioritize different network devices and applications in various ways. There are three categories to choose from:

Real-time applications

Network devices and applications in the category 'Real-Time Applications' are always allocated as much of the internet connection's bandwidth as needed. If other applications are using the internet connection at the same time, data from the real-time applications is sent first.

If several real-time applications use the internet connection at the same time, the bandwidth is distributed equally among them. The telephony (VoIP) application is an exception here; this real-time application always has the highest priority with respect to other real-time applications.

Note:If a real-time application is using the entire bandwidth, other applications cannot transmit data at the same time.

The 'Real-Time Applications' category is especially suited for applications that place very high demands on transmission rates and reaction times, for example telephony, video calls, or cloud gaming.

Prioritized applications

As long as real-time applications are not using the internet connection to full capacity, network devices and applications in the 'Prioritized Applications' category can use up to 90% of the upload bandwidth. Thus, devices and applications that are not prioritized are allocated 10% of the upload bandwidth when prioritized applications are transmitting at full capacity.

If several prioritized applications use the internet connection, the bandwidth is distributed equally among them. The 'Prioritized Applications' category is suitable for applications that require fast reaction times, for example VPN connections, remote access, or online games.

Background applications

Network devices and applications assigned to the category 'Background Applications' are always treated with the lowest priority when the internet connection is working at full capacity. If another application requires the entire bandwidth of the internet connection, all background applications must wait until bandwidth capacity becomes available again. If no other application requires the internet connection, then the background applications can use the entire bandwidth.

For example, the 'Background Applications' category is suitable for automatic updates, the data synchronization with online storage and peer-to-peer services, for example BitTorrent.

2 Setting up a prioritization rule for network devices

If you create a prioritization rule for a network device, it applies to all applications running on that device:

  1. Click on 'Internet' in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click on 'Filter' in the 'Internet' menu.
  3. Click on the 'Prioritization' tab.
  4. Click on the prioritization category that you want to assign to the device, then on 'Create New Rule'.
  5. Select the corresponding device from the drop-down list for network devices.
  6. Select 'All Network Applications' from the drop-down list for network applications.
  7. Click on 'Add' to save the rule.

3 Configuring a prioritization rule for a network application

When you create a prioritization rule for a specific network application, you can decide whether to apply the rule to all or only specific network devices running that application:

Adding a network application

  1. Set up access and prioritization rules for network applications.

Configuring prioritization

  1. Click on 'Internet' in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click on 'Filter' in the 'Internet' menu.
  3. Click on the 'Prioritization' tab.
  4. Click on the prioritization category that you want to assign to the application, then on 'Create New Rule'.
  5. Select the device that is running the application from the drop-down list for network devices.
  6. Select the application from the drop-down list for network applications.
  7. Click on 'Add' to save the rule.
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