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FRITZ!Box user interface cannot be opened

The FRITZ!Box user interface doesn't open when you enter fritz.box or http://169.254.1.1? ✔ Here's what to do.

What should you do if the FRITZ!Box user interface does not open when you enter fritz.box or http://169.254.1.1?

If you cannot open the user interface on your computer, tablet or smartphone, this is usually due to incorrect settings of the FRITZ!Box or the network device.

Simply proceed as described below. After each measure, check whether you can then open the user interface.

1 Connecting the device to the FRITZ!Box

Make sure that your device connected with the FRITZ! home network. Internet access is not required:

  1. Use either Wi-Fi or a network cable to connect the device to the FRITZ!Box. Do not use the Wi-Fi guest access or LAN guest access.

2 Deactivating the mobile network connection in Android

In some cases it may only be possible to access the user interface with an Android smartphone or tablet when the mobile network connection is cleared. The user interface can always be reached, even without internet access:

  1. Enable airplane mode on the Android device to clear all connections.
  2. Only enable Wi-Fi on the Android device to establish the connection to the FRITZ!Box.

After you accessed the user interface with your Android device, deactivate airplane mode on the Android device again.

3 Clearing browsing data (cache)

Clear the cache of the web browser on computers with Windows or macOS:

  1. Press "CTRL + Shift + Del" on the keyboard at the same time, or press "CMD + Alt + E" for Safari.
  2. In the new window, click "Clear" or press Enter.

4 Disabling the VPN connection

If you use an internet anonymization service (for example iCloud Private Relay, Nord VPN) or security software with an integrated VPN (for example Avast One, McAfee Total Protection), the FRITZ!Box user interface cannot be opened since the entire data traffic is forwarded over the VPN connection to the VPN provider:

  1. Disable the VPN connection to open the user interface.

5 Restarting the FRITZ!Box

  1. Unplug the FRITZ!Box for 5 seconds.

    Note:The FRITZ!Box settings are retained when you unplug it. The restart takes about 2 minutes. During this time, you cannot access the FRITZ!Box.

6 Configuring the device to automatically obtain IP settings

Incorrect IP settings for the network device can prevent the user interface from being opened:

7 Opening the user interface with the fallback IP address

  1. Check whether you can use the fallback IP address http://169.254.1.1 to open the user interface. If the user interface does not open, connect a device to a LAN port on the FRITZ!Box and check again.
  2. If the user interface opens, follow the steps in our guide Why can the FRITZ!Box user interface only be opened using the fallback IP address?
    • If the user interface of a Mesh Repeater opens, clear all other LAN and Wi-Fi connections from your Mesh Repeater to the FRITZ!Box and check again.
    • If the user interface cannot be opened at all, continue with the next section.

8 Testing a different device

Opening the user interface with a different device

  1. Check whether you can open the user interface with a different device.
  2. If the user interface opens, use the other device to open the user interface. The settings of the first device are incorrect or the device is not working correctly.
    • If the user interface does not open, use the recovery program to reset the FRITZ!Box. The FRITZ!Box is in an error state.

Running the recovery program

  1. Use the recovery program to reset the FRITZ!Box.