FRITZ!OS 8.00 - frequent dropouts

Has anyone else had issues with their Fritzbox 7530 since the OS updated to 8.00?
I have been experiencing frequent dropouts, Zen told me this morning that it's a known issue which can be fixed with a factory reset. The reset was done and the line held for four hours but the line just dropped again.

Edited by GavinMH (Mon 14-Oct-24 12:50:17)

I have a 4060 which is still on a beta version. no issues whatsoever. I suggest that you contact [email protected]

They usually reply very quickly in English.

Hi, I have the 7530 ax and have updated to 8.0
I did have some problems with the Sky Q connection dropping but no other issues
The Sky Q problem was solved in WiFi / security/ and tick older devices box.

Thanks, I'll probably call Zen again if I experience another drop (they supplied the thing) but may also drop AVM a line.

You have a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty on your Fritz!box. AVM replaced my 7390 some years ago after 4 years of use. To determine what the issue is, AVM will usually send you a set of tests to run. AVM will then review the results.

My Fritz!Box 7530 has also started to regularly reboot itself after it upgraded to Fritz!OS 8.0.

I've factory reset it but that didn't solve the problem. Wi-fi and IPv6 are currently disabled as a test but it is still rebooting itself.

It's a VDSL connection so internet access goes off for a few minutes until the line re-syncs.

I've taken GoWest's advice and emailed AVM. If they get back to me with anything useful then I'll post it here.

Thanks. I'll keep my eye on this thread.

I'm still on 7.59 from June 2024 so I will be watching the thread for outcomes for 7530.
DSL version: 1.180.131.100
Broadcom Version 12.3.16
VDSL2 17a (ITU G.993.2)

I normally have the System → Update page set to Level 1 (Notify only) although I don't know if the ISP can direct them to update anyway with a TR-069 message.

I do use both IPv6 (with applicable rules in the firewall) and Wi-Fi so won't be turning either off and my Wi-Fi remains in mixed (WPA2+3) mode which currently supports everything that needs it here.

If I do update will have to see if that changes anything either for LAN settings or the versioning above.
The notifier mostly highlights some reworking of the GUI for v8.00

Uptime is 30+ days and I prefer not to have the router restart in the middle of a work shift or overnight cover rather than at a time when I decide is a good maintenance window for me.

I'd definitely recommend keeping your 7530 at version 7.59 until the problem with 8.00 is fixed.

My 7530 is still rebooting every 30 minutes or so. The logs are cleared at the point it reboots so the only entries relate to the router starting up. There is always an entry saying "An error report has been sent". I presume this is automatic telemetry to AVM.

I've now had to swap it out for a spare Zyxel router as I use Teams and Teamviewer most of the day. These were being interrupted every time the Fritz!Box crashed.

I haven't yet received a response to my AVM ticket. I called Zen again last night. It was my third call, on the first call (Saturday morning) the agent semed clued up, she tested the line (which was fine) and fixed my 5GhZ wifi to channel 36, telling me to call back for a new router if it didn't work. It didn't work so I called back on Monday morning, when the agent told me that it is now a known issue and she did a factory reset which she said should fix it. The factory reset didn't fix it so I called again on Monday evening, on that occasion the agent seemed to have no knowledge of the OS8.0 issue and insisted that I plug the router in to the test socket for 24 hours before they would do anything else. I explained that the issue had started immediately after the OS update as well as what his colleagues had said to me and I refused point blank to waste more time with ther test socket course of action. After some time - and with the intervention of a supervisor - they are now sendinjg me a 'loan router'. I'm still fuming at the service I received on the third call.

If you look at the AVM website there are numerous pages explaining how to do a factory reset. I have done it a number of times. If you want to avoid configuration problems then you need to do a complete rebuild: ie, set up phones etc from scratch and not use a saved config file.

There are also recovery files on the AVM FTP website that enable you to rollback to the previous firmware.

https://download.avm.de/fritzbox/fritzbox-7530/other...

If Zen is doing this for you then it would seem to me that they have added something to the files that are being deployed. I have looked at an Aussie Fritz site and there are no reports of v8 problems other than some minor language errors.

Edited by GoWest (Tue 15-Oct-24 19:40:17)

I'm using a zen supplied 7530 and upgrading to v8 didn't cause any issues. Theen again it's not my main router and it's LAN connection rather than FTTC. Sounds like it's VDSL issue. I upgraded directly from Fritz box, not sure if it's customised for zen, can't see them wanting custom firmware, just a config file to retrieve the necessary settings.

I got v8 on my 7530 overnight.....3 restarts at least this morning.

Not happy.

My 7530 AX updated on 27th Sept and has been up since; no restarts, no dropped connections. 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi enabled and permanent VPN connection up to another FB router at another location...

Maybe not what those having issues want to hear, but it's not _all_ boxes!

The 'loan router' arrived today, a newer AX model 7350 then my existing one. It may have been a bit foolhardy but I updated the OS to 8.0 and it has been running for the past four hours with no drop-outs. If it keeps this up then I will be seeking to make the 'loan' permanent.

Edited by GavinMH (Wed 16-Oct-24 17:53:56)

I've looked at the AVM websites / manual specs for 7530 vs 7530 AX and am unable to tell if the AX model has additional RAM or just that Wi-Fi 6 is the only significant change.

RAM size is not shown in the UI either, only a graph showing memory usage as a proportion of 100%.

OpenWrt lists 7530 as having 256MB RAM and 128MB NAND Flash storage.

Zen have had me downgrade the DSL version to previous, which hasnt helped.

Ive also got the stability sliders well on their way to max stability, also not helping.

Have a ticket with AVM too, and have supplied them all the diagnostics, but no response yet.

Pushing for a replacement router as this is very disruptive.15 plus restarts yesterday, similar today.

I have some experience of this having been on the beta s/w for a while. For DSL issues, Zen are recommending this at the moment but, as some have noticed, it doesn't always work.

FOR xDSL only: FTTC or ADSL: Using the previous DSL version

Click "Internet" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
Click "DSL Information" in the "Internet" menu.
Click on the "Interference Resistance" ("Line Settings") tab.
Click "Interference Resistance Settings" to display all of the settings.
Enable the option "Use previous DSL version".
Click "Apply" to save the settings.
Now the FRITZ!Box enables the previous DSL version and then restarts. The restart will take about two minutes.

Other bugs that I have found and reported are :

1) In the Events Log > Internet Connection, it sometimes does not remember the 'history' of DSL problems such as line drop. You only see the last event. A subsequent event will over-write this

2) I was very interested to see reference to the possibility that older 7530's may not play nicely with 8.0. Reason is that I have two 7530 - one is a few years older than the other. The newer one will have an option under Internet > Mobile Network. The older one does not list this option. The Mobile Network option is damn useful as I've been having a lot of DSL issues as well although a lot down to 2km of geriatric cable from the cabinet, many joins mostly covered in verdigris. I have a dongle inserted into the USB port with a SIM from Giffgaff.

3) Don't try to restore from that Saved copy. It's bust. You can't restore which is a right PITA. You get a generic error message and that's it.

Thank you for pointing out the "Use previous DSL version" option. I'll try it on my 7530 later to see if it stops the frequent reboots with 8.00.

Edited by steve87001 (Thu 17-Oct-24 15:21:38)

I had to really insist on the replacement router, despite the first agent I spoke to telling me that they'd send out a new box if her tweak didn't work. Don't take any nonsense about needing to have the line tested from the test socket for 24 hours. If you had a previously stable connection and have been getting line drops starting from the time that your 7530 updated to 8.0 then that is almost certainly the issue, and it's an issue that Zen is aware of.

Edited by GavinMH (Thu 17-Oct-24 15:24:55)

In reply to a post by steve87001:

Thank you for pointing out the "Use previous DSL version" option. I'll try it on my 7530 later to see if it stops the frequent reboots with 8.00.

Apart from the £££ Why do they (ISP's) treat customers like fools?

My 7530 Fritzbox has been rebooting several times a day since upgrading to v8.0

I called Zen and they did suggest a factory default reset, but to restore the saved config after resetting. I did so. Problem remains.

Having seen your post, I have set it to use the previous DSL version. Will see if that fixes it. I'd be surprised if it did.

If it doesn't, I'll definitely be calling back and pushing for a 7530AX replacement.

I've had enough. Line dropped twice half way through stteaming Le Bureau. Not the first time. There is a time pattern to the dropouts 5am...9am and around 8am. Is it BT Openreach ? Is it my dodgy cabling 2km from the box ? Is it version 8 ?

I've had enough. I'm now on my dongle plugged into the router.

Giffgaff 1 Zen 0

AVM have not done Zen any favours here. Version 8 is a CoS. The fact that it blocks a restore to 7.59 is simply not acceptable

So what's the difference between the 7530 and the 7530AX ? Are you saying that the AX works OK ?

My old 7530 went wrong after the 8.0 update, the AX I received yesterday from Zen works fine with 8.0 although I think someone here has said that they have issues with the latter. The first Zen agent I spoke to told me it's probably the case that older units (I'd had mine 5 years) struggle with the new OS. I think she was probably correct.

I am experiencing the same issue. I spoke to multiple customer service agents at Zen. The first told me they would update me the next day, they didn't so I called back. The second asked me to change the DSL version on my router. He told me this fix seems to be working for others. Within an hour I had another 2 dropouts. Finally the third said they would sent me a new "loan" router. I should have this in the next couple of days.

I work remote as a DevOps engineer, so a stable connection is absolutely essential for me, so this has been an infuriating few days.

I also tried both a factory reset and today, on the advice of this thread, a reversion to the previous DSL format. Just had another reboot. I am unsurprised.

What does puzzle me is that as far as I can see from Googling this, the issue seems to be exclusively affecting Zen Internet customers. Is this really the case?

If so, it is most likely to be something to do with their corporate remotely deployed router config.

Whatever, it does seem that the Fritzbox 7530 AX is pretty much immune from this rebooting problem. Since Zen offer a lifetime guarantee on these routers, it looks to me that they are just going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade all the customers to whom they have supplied the 7530s to the AX model ASAP.

Edited by MightyTharg (Fri 18-Oct-24 11:49:06)

In reply to a post by MightyTharg:

If so, it is most likely to be something to do with their corporate remotely deployed router config.

As there are no reports of issues on other international websites, you are probably correct.

As Zen appears to have ended its business relationship with AVM it will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Just an observation :
My Fritz went to version 7.59 on 19th June
My Fritz is set to automatically install updates when available
My Fritz info says it looked for an update today 18th October
I am still on 7.59
What's going on ?

In reply to a post by savamac:

Just an observation :
My Fritz went to version 7.59 on 19th June
My Fritz is set to automatically install updates when available
My Fritz info says it looked for an update today 18th October
I am still on 7.59
What's going on ?

I guess it's possible that the roll-out has been paused.

FWIW the 8.0 update does not appear to be on the AVM website at the moment !

Updates for the 7530 and 7530AX are still available on AVM’s FTP website:

https://download.avm.de/fritzbox/fritzbox-7530-ax/ot...

They can be downloaded and installed manually. OS updates are all subject to a Fritz!Lab development phase with a number of Beta and Labor releases.

Edited by GoWest (Fri 18-Oct-24 11:05:07)

I found that mine hadn't updated, but as I was having a problem at the time (apps were failing to contact services - browser sessions worked fine).

So I pushed the update and have regretted it ever since. Connection drops regularly. Zen have been useless, the DSL downgrade was worthless. The AVM downgrade to an earlier OS process fails with an error but gives no indication as to what.

Zen tying us to a specific router may enable them more control and lead to their better overall rating, but it's a real pain in the butt.

Am I alone in thinking a replacement provider is the next step?

Working from home on a flaky connection is beyond annoying.

Zen know about the issue and have done since at least Monday morning when one of their agents told me that they were aware. They should publicly acknowledge it and tell customers what's being done about it, if they are waiting for a patch from AVM then they should say so and give a timetable. Asking customers to conduct pointless processes to push things back a day or two will only lead to more frustration.

Edited by GavinMH (Fri 18-Oct-24 11:56:31)

I think people are reporting that the whole router reboots rather than just the DSL connection dropping.
Including that any RAM-only logs are lost at reboot (if not flushed to flash before it happens).

For the latter I could understand downgrading the DSL version.
But that is only going to help with restarts if that is crashing the whole router.

If Zen do not know which program or hardware driver is causing the router to have unplanned reboots it should not be guessing with fixes for a different class of problem such as line instability or Wi-Fi settings.

They would probably need the router to be talking to a syslog server so that it has messages right up to the point of failure.

Typical problems that adding new features can cause would be out of memory while chipset firmware/drivers could either cause a kernel panic or system hang if not handled gracefully.
If it only happens when the system has been running for a certain amount of time it can be a memory leak or when a scheduled job kicks in.

For a system hang it may have a low level (hardware-based) watchdog that reboots the system if it becomes unresponsive - it's not uncommon for devices intended for continuous unattended operation.

In reply to a post by toby5596:

Zen tying us to a specific router may enable them more control and lead to their better overall rating, but it's a real pain in the butt.

You can use whatever router you want with Zen.

Just to add, I have a 7530ax on 8.0 and no issues. Seems to be affecting the non-ax model from what I've read here.

I am using a 5+ years old 7530 and updated to v8 00.

No problems being experienced at all.

I am operating it as a DSL router only with WiFi turned off and IP6 disabled.

It is plugged directly into my Master, test socket using an ADSL filter dongle as I have previously experienced an unstable BT line and was fed up removing the faceplate for the mandatory Zen hoop jumping in order to raise an Openreach callout.

The reboot explains a lot as I was puzzled that on a lot of occasions (but not always) when it went doo-lalley I would lose wi-fi connection to the router.

I wonder what is 'special' about the Zen badged 7530 ? Hardware ? Smaller memory chip ? There have definitely been subtle hardware changes during the lifetime of the 7530. I have one that has the Mobile Connection option under the Internet tab. And another - older one - that does not.

You can use whatever router you want with Zen.

With a phone line as well I thought that wasn't possible?

The UI has no option to disable the router broadcasting WiFi and most information I found online suggested we had to have the Fritz in the chain for things to work. I'm no network engineer and really don't want to have to learn enough about it to do something that an iso should do for me.

I've now reached the support process point where the problem may be 'degradation of metalwork in the connection ' so should use the test socket. That'll sort the obvious software issue for sure.

You only need a Fritz! box with a FON socket if you are using Zen's Digital Voice service. Then you can plug in an analogue phone or a DECT base station.

However, if you want to connect IP phone(s) to a VoIP provider, via an Ethernet connection, you just connect the phone(s) to the Ethernet sockets on the router. This is also the case if you want to treat Zen's DV as just another VoIP service, where you can configure the connection in the same way.. Here you can use any suitable router.

I received my loan router today (the same model, not the AX version). This router has version 7.29 firmware installed. Upon connecting it I had no Internet. I called support and they said "the router had not been added to my account", which you would think would be standard practice when sending a router to a customer.

I am glad to have stable Internet again but I am disappointed that I didn't receive the AX model of the same router as WiFi 6 and the latest firmware would have been nice. When I asked why this was the customer service agent why this was he completely avoided the question.

"The UI has no option to disable the router broadcasting WiFi"

Untick both WiFi frequency bands to disable the 7530 WiFi output.

Find under Settings/WiFi/ WiFi Channel /Adjust channel settings

Edited by ToneDeaf (Sat 19-Oct-24 13:57:51)

Fritz!boxes are exceptionally easy to configure. There is a raft of information on the AVM website.

When I was last with Zen 6 years ago, they were providing a standard 7530 along with the FTTC log in details. Has this changed?

I now have a 4060 that connects to a FTTP ONT via WAN. Three DECT phones are connected to the Fritz!Box and I have set up a VOIP connection using AAISP as my VOIP provider. All very simple - even for a 75 year old!

If I didn’t have a Fritz!Box then I would just buy a Gigaset IP base to connect to a VOIP service to use with my existing DECT phones and whatever router I decided to use.

Isn’t ZEn about to ditch Fritz!Boxes if favour of an Amazon product?

No need whatsoever to go into any UI. If you press the button on top of the F!B adjacent to the WLAN LED, it disables the WLAN.

In reply to a post by toby5596:

use the test socket. That'll sort the obvious software issue for sure.

I'm also at this stage of the support process. Don't understand their game plan here, they must know it is a software issue.

What does me suffering through another 48 hours of router crashes while connected through the test socket achieve? Are they maybe stalling customers while waiting on a software patch from AVM?

In reply to a post by GoWest:

.....I now have a 4060 that connects to a FTTP ONT via WAN. Three DECT phones are connected to the Fritz!Box and I have set up a VOIP connection using AAISP as my VOIP provider. All very simple - even for a 75 year old!
If I didn’t have a Fritz!Box then I would just buy a Gigaset IP base to connect to a VOIP service to use with my existing DECT phones and whatever router I decided to use.......

Sorry to go off-topic, but out of interest which brand of DECT phone are you using with the Fritz? Do you get all the functions with this - address book/caller display etc - or is it purely phone calls?

Reaosn I ask is that I have a perfetly good Gigaset DECT set up and wondered whether these would work and use the additional functions with the Fritz. If not I would need to use a Gigaset DECT base. - N300 or similar.

Edited by Tacitus (Sat 19-Oct-24 15:31:12)

In reply to a post by freddybob:

In reply to a post by toby5596:

use the test socket. That'll sort the obvious software issue for sure.

I'm also at this stage of the support process. Don't understand their game plan here, they must know it is a software issue.

What does me suffering through another 48 hours of router crashes while connected through the test socket achieve? Are they maybe stalling customers while waiting on a software patch from AVM?

That is my suspicion. I did manage to get a 'loan router' after a rather fraught conversation with them (my first couple of calls, by contrast, were perfectly constructive). I emailed on Thursday afternoon to tell them that the new router hadn't disconnected in the 24 hours that I'd had it and that I'd likle to keep it, no response as yet.

Edited by GavinMH (Sat 19-Oct-24 16:39:09)

Same here. Not on Zen, just have been using a second-hand 7530 for years on my Plusnet VDSL connection.

Upgraded to v8 last night but it has been a nightmare since. Constant reboots. Nothing helps. Recovery (downgrade to 7.59) via standard recovery software turns out impossible.

Edited by NewMoon (Sat 19-Oct-24 16:37:55)

Any Gigaset HX phone will wirelessly connect to the Fritz!Box DECT station. There are also a number of suitable Panasonic models.

https://en.avm.de/guide/avm-explains-dect/

In reply to a post by GoWest:

Any Gigaset HX phone will wirelessly connect to the Fritz!Box DECT station. There are also a number of suitable Panasonic models.
https://en.avm.de/guide/avm-explains-dect/

Any that complies with the GAP standard should connect to the Fritz which would allow them to make and receive calls. I was really looking for whether you can access the address book, use caller display and some of the other features with a non-Fritz phone.

Probably the only way to find out is to try one and see. Mine are Gigaset S700 HPro

In reply to a post by GoWest:

No need whatsoever to go into any UI. If you press the button on top of the F!B adjacent to the WLAN LED, it disables the WLAN.

Unless, like me, you have disabled the buttons in the settings.

My loan AX arrived yesterday with 7.57 running. It has been running perfectly since starting at 4pm. I have a sneaking suspicion that the h/w on the basic 7530 is not able to run v8.0. As has already been suggested, either the CPU has run out of puff or there's not enough memory. That theory would fit in why those just using it as a'dumb' modem are not having problems.

Edited by countryman69 (Sun 20-Oct-24 06:46:16)

Got my loan 7530 yesterday lunchtime, sent me the AX version.
It was at version 7.59.

Set it up, confgured it, disabled updates. (however missed the provider pushed updates page)

Got to bed time, not a single drop.

Was also running back at the max speeds, the other had dropped 15-20 mbps with its amounts of restarts,

Got up this morning to an email from Zen....Weve updated to V8....

So if you want to avoid that, need to disable remote management too. when to do that would have been tricky, so in one way its good its done, the other is it has been up since 2:30 with no drops, so looks promising.

Agree on wifi disable not being as obvious as it should be in the GUI, Very easy by clicking My Fritz top right corner of the interface, where its then just a simple switch.

Edited by jamsmv6 (Sun 20-Oct-24 09:59:10)

Should add, this is my 2nd loan router...

Lat time as it proved my original was faulty, thats the one that went back.

I expect the same here....Although if they find a fix they may well want to remotely apply and test it.

No issue either way TBH. As long as whatever I have works and is stable, holding the line at the best speed it can Im happy.

I dont use Phone, or wifi functionality on it for the extra functionality to make any difference to me.

Can anyone confirm that a 7530 running an FTTP service appears to be ok with V8? It looks like all the reports on here so far are with VDSL. It may be that the reduced load with VDSL disabled circumvents the problem with the 7530.

Updated....dammit...same thing happened here and, of course, we can't rollback due to that bug in v8.0

7530AX here oh FTTP, its been running v8 since delivered a few weeks ago and SO FAR at least no reboots or drops.

Its mesh connected to an older 7530 which seems to still be running 7.59.

Did it update itself automatically? Mine's still on 7.59 and I'm hoping I've managed to disable auto updates for the time being, at least until these issues are resolved.

In addition to the change on the System > Update > Auto Update tab > Specify = Level 1: NOTIFY only
(for OS updates from AVM)
and at the bottom of same page, OS updates initiated from Home Network can also be Unticked


there is Internet > Account Information > Provider Services tab > Permit automatic updates = Unticked
(for OS updates managed by ISP)

With Notify selected, I was previously being informed of v8.00 being available,
but now the dashboard is saying "7.59 - Version up to date" (for 7530 non AX)
which also makes me think AVM have paused updates either for this model
or via a filter to opt out based on Country, ISP or type of connection in the Internet settings
(assuming the router sends such basic info about itself in the update check).

Edited by prlzx (Sun 20-Oct-24 12:22:03)

In reply to a post by prlzx:

but now the dashboard is saying "7.59 - Version up to date" (for 7530 non AX)

The dashboard on my 7530 states "7.59 - Version up to date" but a check for the latest version returns with messages telling me that an update to v8.0 is available.

My 7530 is over 5 years old and is connected to FTTP fed from an OTP via ethernet to port 1. Much as I'd like to update to v8 0, I'm not going to chance it! ...(yet)

Edited by kroma (Sun 20-Oct-24 13:23:51)

In reply to a post by bellerby:

Can anyone confirm that a 7530 running an FTTP service appears to be ok with V8? It looks like all the reports on here so far are with VDSL. It may be that the reduced load with VDSL disabled circumvents the problem with the 7530.

I too would very much like to know the answer to this question, is V8 safe with an old 7530 connecting via FTTP?
Anybody happily running their 7530 with V8 using FTTP?
I notice that I have just received a message saying V8 is now available so it would seem that the update has not been paused and it would seem that I have disabled auto updates and pushed updates just in the nick of time.

Mine has been running V9/.0 on FTTP for 5 days with no issues so it may well just be an issue with the DSL modem side.
IPv6 is enabled and working fine as well.

Thanks for that info, I will give it a bit longer to see if there are any other comments about V8 with FTTP then risk it. I wish there was a way to roll back the update if there are problems.

In reply to a post by bloodycat:

Mine has been running V9/.0 on FTTP for 5 days with no issues so it may well just be an issue with the DSL modem side.
IPv6 is enabled and working fine as well.

Can I ask where V9 is available from?

Edited by ToneDeaf (Sun 20-Oct-24 21:43:29)

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Updated....dammit...same thing happened here and, of course, we can't rollback due to that bug in v8.0

you're saying the problem also affects the AX model?

No, it's running perfectly on v8 I was referring to the fact that I'd missed disabling one of the backdoors and so it had upgraded itself to v8....which I didn't want to happen until I wanted it to.

Given that there appear to be no other reports on 7530 update issues on the German and Australian forums plus the fact that the issues seems to be pointing towards the built in modem, I would attempt 2 things:

1. A complete factory reset.

2. Manual reconfiguration of the modem: log in etc.

If people want to isolate the issue, then one way of testing is to WAN connect the Fritz!Box to another modem. If the Fritz!Box continues to experience drop outs/re-boots then the issue is not related to the modem.

This will seem obvious to many but WiFi dropouts are not the same as a complete Fritz!Box reboot. I have had wifi issues in the past when running beta/labor software on the 7490; 7590 and the 4060.

Obviously a typo- fat fingers , small screen and failing eyesight.

A report of a 7530ax problem on a German forum in this thread

https://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/threads/fritzos-8...

I used Google translate within the Chrome browser.

The Vodafone Germany forums are showing various issues with other models after update.

Most of the users appear to have been able to roll back to the previous version loaded.

Edited by ToneDeaf (Mon 21-Oct-24 09:18:08)

Whirlpool Net Au is not reporting any major issues with Fritz!Box firmware. I am currently on OS8 Beta for my model and there are no issues.

Further to my earlier post, if people think that this is a DSL issue here is AVM's advice on rollback:

Using the previous DSL version

If the problem occurs with the latest DSL version (for example after updating FRITZ!OS), test the DSL version of the previous FRITZ!OS:

Click "Internet" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.

Click "DSL Information" in the "Internet" menu.

Click on the "Interference Resistance" ("Line Settings") tab.

Click "Interference Resistance Settings" to display all of the settings.

Enable the option "Use previous DSL version".

Click "Apply" to save the settings.

Now the FRITZ!Box enables the previous DSL version and then restarts. The restart will take about two minutes.
Note:If the problem no longer occurs with the previous DSL version, send us brief feedback under "Internet > DSL Information > Feedback".

I spoke to Zen at about 10.30 am today. The technician told me that" as of about 10 minutes ago" they had received an update identifying the problem.
It was nothing to do with the 8.0 update rather it was their own system which had caused it --this has now been rectified.
I'm not technically able to explain fully but it was something like their system seeing 8.0 as a "new" update even though it had already been installed and then shutting down to try to install it .
Hopefully it has been fixed--we will see.

It begs the question as to why Zen is rolling out updates and not AVM? Are Zen 7350/AX owners allowed to download beta/labor firmware from Fritz!Labs? It used to be the case that routers from Zen were fully unlocked and configured by the end user. Has the rollout of Digital Voice (VOI P in all but name) played a part in this?

I have had AVM firmware updates fail in the past. All one was required to do was reboot the box and start the download process again.

Glad that the issue will be fixed for those impacted by the issue. I was thinking of switching back to Zen but I might now take a rain check.

For that to ring true with me, it would be daily at 2:30ish, not several times an hour at max, and possibly worse with heavier load / mor connections.

Be interesting to see how it plays out.

For the moment I've a good and bad device here, but am not testing during the day, Ive lost too much productivity as it is.

Zen emailed me the same thing this morning. In essence, it was a config error and that they have fixed it.

Just rebooted again..... 🙄

In reply to a post by westlodge:

I spoke to Zen at about 10.30 am today. [..] something like their system seeing 8.0 as a "new" update

I spoke to Zen around the same time, they explained it to me as their systems looking for a 'different' version number rather than a 'lower' version number.

If that was the cause, wouldn't the AX model also be affected?

Anyway, in the three hours following this fix my router crashed and rebooted another eight times.

They are now sending me a replacement router.

The provided routers are unlocked so you can use with any provider - but they come preconfigured to get their settings automaticaly from zen allowing them to send updated settings and initiate firmware updates though the latter you can also initiate yourself. Usually mine gets updated automatically as I rarely login to the router, though this last one I started manually asit offered it to me when I checked as a result of this thread.

My router logs show frequent The service provider successfully transmitted settings to this device. messages (dozens of times a day) though I have no idea why - doesn't actually affect any of my settings so I haven't bothered changing the ISP to other and manually entering my login details. I almost did when the first firmware update I had occuurred during the day while I was using the connection, but since then all firmware updates have happened overnight.

I've yet to receive any response to my email sent last Thursday requesting to keep the loan router. Zen acknowledged the issue to me after 3 days then stopped acknowledging it when I went to the next step of requesting a new router (which they eventually and grudgingly sent on 'loan' terms). They now appear to be claiming to have fixed it, yet this is not the experience of people posting here. I shalln't be reconnecting my original Fritzbox for the time being.

Edited by GavinMH (Mon 21-Oct-24 16:19:39)

Source ISPReview:

Dean Burdon, Zen’s Customer Experience Director, said:

“We are aware of an issue affecting a small number of our customers using the Fritz!Box 7530 router following the recent OS8 firmware update from AVM. This issue has impacted less than 0.5% of the routers we have in circulation. Nonetheless, customer satisfaction is our top priority, and we are committed to ensuring that all our customers have a seamless experience.

The recent firmware update triggered an automatic reboot of the device, which may have appeared as a disconnection to some users. We have identified and stopped this auto reboot and are closely monitoring any further reported faults. We urge any customers experiencing issues to contact our support team for assistance.”

I monitor the bandwidth of my Fritz!Box using a Prometheus plugin and Grafana. Until the version 8 upgrade, the bandwidth was mostly stable, only changing when I restarted my pppoe endpoint.

Now it's all over the place, changing several times an hour, sometimes within a couple of minutes, between 28 and 29.3 Mb/s

There are a couple of graphs here, It's obvious when I updated the firmware.

12 hours

7 days

30 days

Router updated to version 8 a couple of days ago
Still seeing dropouts since the problem was apparently "fixed". Rebooting every 3 hours or so, last one was about 20mins ago. Contacting customer support in the morning!

Edited by paulby (Mon 21-Oct-24 21:19:07)

This is confusing. Where is the 'fix'? In Zen's systems or have they modified v*. If the latter then surely it should be version 8.something?

That doesn't make sense to be honest. I'm not and have never been a Zen customer. I just happen to have an 7530 that I bought off eBay and have for years used with my Plusnet connection. It's a Zen device, apparently. Now, is it at all possible that aftermarket devices keep talking to Zen? Can Zen connect with them remotely and, for instance, make configuration changes without owner's consent or knowledge?

EDIT: Most recent reboot happened right after I posted it.

Edited by NewMoon (Mon 21-Oct-24 22:33:17)

I received a call from Zen customer service today at 5pm. They assured me the issue had been fixed and wanted me to return the loan router. Luckily before agreeing to this I said I would like to test the old router with version 8.0 firmware first.

I had 2 reboots in 4 hours and now back on the loan router.

v9.0?!

Evidently not resolved.

I have had another three reboots of my Zen-supplied 7530 router in the last hour.

Expecting delivery of my "loan" 7530 AX tomorrow. Will see how that goes...

Yup - my 7530 continues to reboot. Three times in the last hour (11 to midnight 21-10-24)

Will try a hard reboot (power-cycle) but I doubt if that will help.

Hopefully will be getting a 7530AX from Zen tomorrow. That will be interesting.

Edit: oh great another reboot at 00:54 22-10-24

Edited by MightyTharg (Tue 22-Oct-24 00:54:42)

Yes, they can tweak your router. You need to disable all the backdoors.


The more I think about it, that press release from Zen makes no sense whatosever. The phrase 'straws' and 'clutching' springs to mind.

It's not fixed. Noithing like.

I've been running the AX for several days now and had just ne DSL drop. NB Not a reboot.

9.30am this morning connected up the 7530. First reboot after an hour. Gradually loaded up the router by watching a film, streaming some audio, turning on the security Nest camera that uploads to the Mothership. Had a few more.
Then started listening to some Radio 3 and it fell over within 15 minutes. Rebooted. As each program fired up again, withing minutes it rebooted.

Waiting for my AX to arrive. The 7530 is regularly rebooting or dropping the line still.

You can download the recover.exe from AVM which will blast any version of the OS onto the router. You can use wayback machine to get an old one.

This is the URL for the current recovery program, put that into wayback machine and get an old one from before it all went t!ts up. Then turn off auto updates.
https://download.avm.de/fritzbox/fritzbox-7530/other...

e.g.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230531133413/https://d...

or for AX
https://web.archive.org/web/20230912221415/https://d...

EDIT: wayback machine links don't seem to work for very long, so just put the 1st url into waybackmachine yourself and find a pre-8.0 OS.
EDIT2: seems wayback machine is down at the moment (I thought the links had expired)

Edited by Glenn2 (Tue 22-Oct-24 16:09:17)

Turns out they are sending me a 7530, not the AX as they have run out. At the same time I get an email saying there is no problem at their end and asking me to plug into the test socket.

And a phone call telling me it must just be my hardware that's failed.

Done with Zen tbh.

I have been reading this thread with interest. I have an old 7530, and a newer 7530AX - both originally from Zen, though I am not and never have been with Zen for broadband. The 7530 is now just a mesh repeater, and the AX has the VDSL connection.

Both were regularly updated with the recent 7.90 beta versions, and 8.00 since it bacame available from AVM. I have not seen any unexpected disconnections, and the AX has now had the current connection for over 27 days.

This seems to support the theory that it is not the hardware, or the AVM software that is causing the problems, but something that Zen have messed up in their distribution of OS8.

I just got off an infuriating live chat with Zen. They insisted the problem is fixed and nobody else has reported the issue since. Then I was asked to plug the loan router to the test socket. The loan router on v7 works just fine so not sure what this will prove. I am pretty certain they will end in them saying its a hardware (router problem). Then I will have to update the loan router to v8 to prove it's not.

I think I am also done with Zen

Edited by Gattsu80 (Tue 22-Oct-24 17:14:05)

I'm afraid that I can't agree with that deduction. No-one has any issue with the 7530AX on version 8. The 7530 is coasting along being a simple mesh repeater.

The reason fir the problems is that the 7530 has run out of puff. Might be OK for simply a modem or a repeater but to do heavy-lifting ? Foget it.

It is a hardware problem. Simply run out of guts to run the new version.

Their 'explanation' does not stand up. 'The recent firmware update triggered an automatic reboot of the device, which may have appeared as a disconnection to some users. We have identified and stopped this auto reboot '

It might have triggered an automatic reboot when the update was first loaded and run. That is normal behaviour for a lot of updates across the board. But it is a one-off. How on earth can Zen say that they 'stopped this auto-reboot' ? Either their system was constantly sending out ...somehow...an auto-reboot command to the router (if such a command exists' or it's a combination of the new version and the existing hardware in the 7530. Over which Zen has no control.

The former scenario ...that they were sending out a reboot signal..is easily dismissed because there are enough people on here who have disabled all remote control of the router by Zen....and yet the router still keeps rebooting.

Zen are not doing their star rating any good here.

Edited by countryman69 (Tue 22-Oct-24 17:41:42)

I agree. It's clearly working fine on the AX model (which they refused to send me)

I found the Fritz UI had got very slow and flaky, the last time I tried it (about 6 months ago I think).

I had previously abandoned it for OpenWRT a couple of years ago, although that was due to wifi bugs*. Just did a brief test earlier this year to see if the wifi bugs I had were fixed (they weren't) and it was so painfully slow. Went back to OpenWRT again.

*The bug in question was that even when manually forcing a low-numbered 5GHz channel (e.g., 42) it would often leave it for a high-numbered one that most of my equipment cannot even receive, meaning most of my devices had no wifi.

In reply to a post by countryman69:

It is a hardware problem. Simply run out of guts to run the new version.

I doubt it. The CPU load as shown in the UI hovers around 50%,

Besides, there's very little in terms of new functionality. Same VDSL modem, same NAT, same wifi. Changes from v7 to v8 were mostly cosmetic, plus tweaking of a few smart-home functions that hardly anyone uses anyway. Given that v7.59 was able to run under smoothly a very heavy load, a suggestion that the v8 crashes are caused by normal load doesn't appear plausible.

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Their 'explanation' does not stand up. 'The recent firmware update triggered an automatic reboot of the device, which may have appeared as a disconnection to some users. We have identified and stopped this auto reboot '

It might have triggered an automatic reboot when the update was first loaded and run. That is normal behaviour for a lot of updates across the board. But it is a one-off. How on earth can Zen say that they 'stopped this auto-reboot' ? Either their system was constantly sending out ...somehow...an auto-reboot command to the router (if such a command exists' or it's a combination of the new version and the existing hardware in the 7530. Over which Zen has no control.

Agree that their statement is bonkers.

My router is showing TR-069 as "inactive" under Diagnostics / Security (although what should be an "IP services" tab under Account Information, with more granular controls, doesn't exist or is hidden).

In reply to a post by countryman69:

The former scenario ...that they were sending out a reboot signal..is easily dismissed because there are enough people on here who have disabled all remote control of the router by Zen....and yet the router still keeps rebooting.

Zen are not doing their star rating any good here.

Agree.

Edited by NewMoon (Tue 22-Oct-24 20:24:31)

Where do you find CPU load ? I can see energy consumption but not CPU load.

Assuming you are right then what do you think is causing the reboots ?

Edited by countryman69 (Tue 22-Oct-24 22:30:32)

Actually you missed one enhancement....the ability to log data throughput on seven attached devices. I can see that being memory intensive. Enough to make that watchdog reboot ?

If none of these fit for you then what do you think is the reason for the reboots ?

Edited by countryman69 (Tue 22-Oct-24 22:35:04)

It appears from the posst above that reboots happen only on an xDSL connection, not when connected via LAN1. If so, data throughput display won't be the culprit IMO,

I strongly doubt it measures energy consumption. I actually have no idea what it measures. One of my routers is used via LAN1 only but it keeps displaying DSL energy usage at 80% (and WiFi at 100%). It's not very intelligible to me.

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Their 'explanation' does not stand up. 'The recent firmware update triggered an automatic reboot of the device, which may have appeared as a disconnection to some users. We have identified and stopped this auto reboot '

My understanding of the issue is that Zen's ACS periodically checks in on routers (checking for a valid auth etc), this check includes checking the router firmware version. If the ACS noticed a different version than the one it thought was the most recent (I assume this was incorrectly set to 7.59 instead of 8.0), it'd force the router to redownload/install the update, causing the reboot. This repeated forever until they pushed the fix through to their ACS the other day.

That said, as it's still ongoing... who knows

When I first started experiencing the reboots that occurred to me too.

So the first thing I did was disable data usage collection by device.

Didn't help at all though. Still rebooted several times a day.

I received a loner 7530 AX from Zen today. Updated it to 8.0 firmware and installed my saved config file from my (non AX) 7530. That's 12 hours now. No reboots so far.

Edited by MightyTharg (Wed 23-Oct-24 00:33:11)

Think you might be missing the point. Processor loading managing the DSL interface is, in contrast to a LAN1 connection, significantly higher. Pushing the router towards that reboot.

Could also be a memory leak.

This issue would have been picked up a lot sooner had Zen 7530 users been given access to Fritz!Labs OS labor/beta updates. Built into these updates is the ability to rollback to the last stable OS.

My Fritz!Box (not a 7530) is currently on version 7.90-116186 BETA

Given that Fritz!Boxes are some of the easiest routers on the planet to configure, I am not sure why Zen has gone down the route of managing updates.

I notice the info sticker on the underside of my 7530 says "Edition Zen Internet".

I wonder if the Zen edition of the 7530 has a lower hardware spec than other 7530 routers.

Not so. I was running the beta version on my 7530, had the reboot issues but could not rollback due to the bug mentioned elsewhere.

I was wondering about that as well. Possibly reduced RAM. I know it's probably peanuts £££ but in the realm of production electronics, all those ££££ add up.

In reply to a post by countryman69:

... all those ££££ add up.

... and are blown away by the subsequent support issues

Finally stopped the reboots by pressing my old Openreach VDSL modem into service and connecting to LAN1 (changing the connection to "via an external modem" in the Fritz!Box settings).

No reboots for 18 hours now so fingers crossed!

Also you're right in that you cannot roll back from a beta if you have the Zen provided 7530 - the roll back process stops and says something along the lines of "found provider specific firmware, please contact your provider for help" with the only option available being to exit the process.

As a former poster on here, my wife finally got Zen to cough to a 'loan' router, arrived today and has been running for an hour (zero instructions or documentation, just figure it out yourselves). It's a non-ax 7530 but on 7.59, so I've disabled updates and hope it will resolve the problem for now. It doesn't seem to allow connections to any of the AVM mesh repeaters I have though (a 1200 and 3000 which worked before ok).

So far I've had a stable connection for a whole hour, which is better than most days recently. They also sent a micro-filter to move to the test socket which I refuse to do as this has wasted more than enough of my time and energy.

I've also arranged to switch providers as Zen were utterly useless in supporting this, I last spoke to them on Saturday and the response was 'just wait for a fix to the OS', they didn't want to send the loan router out at all. It's been a frustrating and costly period, I'll also now have to re-sell the mesh nodes as they'll be useless on the new ISP/router combo.

In reply to a post by steve87001:

I'd definitely recommend keeping your 7530 at version 7.59 until the problem with 8.00 is fixed.

I bought a Fritzbox 7530 from eBay for family (wanted the integrated VoIP functionality), and it was - like I suspect most of those sold on eBay in the UK - a 'Zen Internet edition' (i.e. Zen provided) router, though it's being used with a different ISP.

Thankfully I turned the firmware auto-updates off, which was fortuitous else I'd have been dealing with (or rather failing to deal with!) this issue from afar - not least because it seems that with a 'Zen edition' Fritzbox it's not possible to roll back the firmware as it's customised.

I think you missed the point The load remains at 80% when no DSL is connected, as DSL is not in use on that router. SInce there's no data transfer taking place via that interface (and the interface is powered from the line anyway), and consequently no or neglibible processing, then this whole "load" appears a bs.

In reply to a post by steve87001:

it's not possible to roll back the firmware as it's customised.

It is, you use the recover.exe from AVM website which blasts the 'current' firnware on, but you use wayback machine to get an archive version of the page with an old one on it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230607133456/https://d...

Edited by Glenn2 (Wed 23-Oct-24 17:39:05)

Tried that (using WayBack machine) but the recovery always results in an error saying to contact my service provider for help as a custom firmware has been loaded (with no option other than to exit the recovery process).

As posted earlier, resorted to digging out my old Openreach VDSL modem and bypassing the in built modem altogether - getting on for 24h without a reboot.

My replacement 7530 was just as bad, so they are sending an AX to get here on Friday.

If I stream a film through wired, to 3000 repeater, wireless to 7530, it reboots every 30-60 minutes.

If I stream wireless to a 3000 repeater, wireless to 7530, it reboots every 5-6 minutes.

If I insert an extension into the low voltage side of the power supply, it reboots regularly (I discovered this a long time ago).

It appears the 7530 was on the edge, and is now over the edge of it's performance capability. I wonder if the bloat contained in the special Zen firmware helps to tip this fine balance (compared to unmodified 7530s that AVM will have tested).

Trouble is.....you need a PC!

That's interesting - I have a Zen 7530 and those recovery programs work fine on mine. I think maybe once it's had OpenWRT on it, as mine has, the Zen-ness is removed and it becomes a standard one. Oh well.

I'm afraid that I have no idea what it is you're trying to say. But never mind.

Zen asked me to do a Factory Reset today. I'd already tried that but agreed to try it again. Then let it run for a couple of hours with minimal internet activity. No reboots. Gradually started adding stuff, streaming videos, audio, uploading the security camera video. After 30 minutes it rebooted. And so it went on for the next couple of hours. That's good enough for me. YVMV

These odd 'variation's are frustrating. You can't Mesh yet others can. I have three routers ...two 7530 and the loan 7530AX. The Mobile Network option is provided on one router - a 7530 - but not on the other two. I'm wondering if over the years there is firmware burned into part of the router as part of the Zen 'special'. The AVM software then overlaid on top of this. Early versions of the Zen edition router allowed the mobile network option. Certainly the rouuer that allows Mobile Networks is the oldest of the lot. Then Zen blocked that option later on.

There isn't any bloat. The Zen model only comes preconfigured to work with Zen network - VPI, VTI and VC values are hardocoded, as is the URL of the TR-069 server.

On non-Zen versions, German providers are preconfigured. Everything else looks the same.

In reply to a post by toby5596:

It doesn't seem to allow connections to any of the AVM mesh repeaters

I had a similar problem over the weekend with my non-AX 7530 on v8.00 and fixed it by factory resetting the box and the repeater.

Certainly my mileage varies: my router reboots even in the middle of the night, when all computers are off and there's a near zero load on the network. I have email reports being sent at every reboot, and the reboot times were as follows during the last night:

00:05, 00:51, 01:15, 01:52, 02:28, 02:40, 04:10, 05:06, 05:23, 10:24, 10:36, 12:00.

Besides, an overloaded router should simply slow down instedad of rebooting.

Finally, there are no reports of problems with editions other than Zen, while Zen has the same internals as the mainstream edition I suppose.

So, I'm incluned to say that the problem is caused by a software bug rather than an overload.

Yes, repeaters should be factory reset after every formware upgrade, or so I was told on another forum (and it helped fix my problem with repeaters). No need to factory reset the box, though.

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 24-Oct-24 00:32:48)

Interesting. Are you running a weblogging app that generates the emails when it loses contact with the web (as in a reboot)?

Besides, an overloaded router should simply slow down instedad of rebooting Not necessarily. If there is a h/w watchdog that needs resetting, then 'slowing down' could stop sending the reset. Ergo a reboot.

How do you know if the Zen version has the same internals ? Have you stripped both types down?

I keep coming back to wondering what exactly is the difference in the Zen s/w to the mainstream version. And, of course, any h/w differences. Could it be that there is minimal s/w difference...merely that the router is (or should be) preloaded with the account and password ?

The Zen model only comes preconfigured to work with Zen network - VPI, VTI and VC values are hardocoded, as is the URL of the TR-069 server.

On non-Zen versions, German providers are preconfigured. Everything else looks the same.

Doesn't this contradict with your other statement in a later post saying that it is s/w related ? No reported issues with other 7530 routers. If we assume that there is no difference to the s/w per se (other than the pre-configured details ie just data..not code) then all we are left with is a difference in the hardware. If that is the case then my money would be on a smaller amount of memory.

Gosh, this takes me back decades to the days of the Intel 20286 which had a bug in the silicon that only manifested itself under certain conditions but nevertheless required a chip replacement FOC. Intel went to great pains to keep that under wraps.

Well Zen have just asked for their OLD router back.

So guess they are either looking for affected devices to test with, or know they cant forward fix this.

I buy my Fritz! equipment from across the Channel (7390/7490/7590/4060 and Repeaters 3000 and 6000). Both the 7390 and 7490 were German versions that needed to be re flashed: the rest were loaded with international software and came with EU plug.

I have had some issues with beta software and I have the occasional glitch when updating. The latter was resolved by power rebooting the box.

The ‘locking’ of a router to a particular ISP is pretty short-sighted IMHO. It may save on support costs (save for the present 7530 situation) but it does nothing for the ISP’s green credentials.

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Are you running a weblogging app that generates the emails when it loses contact with the web (as in a reboot)?

Frtizbox has a notification option for each event when it receives an IP address.

How do you know if the Zen version has the same internals ? Have you stripped both types down?[/[quote]
See this. And same firmware, obviously.

I keep coming back to wondering what exactly is the difference in the Zen s/w to the mainstream version.

I think it's just configuration, and the router reporting its edition in config header not as avme but as zen. I'll try to reflash the avme header once I get home next week and see whether it will enable standard recovery. But I faintly recall that AVM has blocked edition change via config flash, while I don't have enough time unfortunately to fiddle with terminal commands.

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 24-Oct-24 11:24:17)

I've sent my old router back, in agreement with Zen. I was more than happy to return it and keep the AX replacement permanently.

Edited by GavinMH (Thu 24-Oct-24 11:24:43)

AVM have also replied that they were unable to find a cause, and have provided a downgrade file!

Assume this wont work due to Zen though, and I wont be trying it as Zen are taking it back.

Respect !

That boxmatrix link is excellent. Note that the AX has twice the memory of the basic 7530 !

AVM sent me the link to a recover.exe for 7.59 but as I do't have a PC, not much use to me unfortunately.

I received a 7530 AX from Zen. To get my 1200 repeater to reconnect, I just had to reconnect it using WPS as with a new unit.

I found it wasn't reporting connected devices correctly on the 7530AX network>mesh page, but after power-cycling the 1200 repeater it is now OK.

It's now been 48 hours without a reboot since the AX router was installed, so I'll be returning the old 7530.

All look rock-solid for now.

Slightly worrying performance from Zen customer service reported here, but my own experience has actually been OK. I'll be staying with them for the time being.

Let's hope it's not a sign of a general decline. They have been exemplary for ten years.

Let's hope it's not a sign of a general decline. They have been exemplary for ten years.

Seconded. We've been with them almost since Day One

Can I please ask folk who are reading this thread to check something for me?

Are you able to see Internet > Mobile Network as an option, please.

Many thanks

Frtizbox has a notification option for each event when it receives an IP address.

Hi. I've looked all over but can't find where to set this up. Can you help, please ? Thank you

Push service > Current IP address.

Shouldn't the option show only when a USB modem is inserted?

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Let's hope it's not a sign of a general decline. They have been exemplary for ten years.

Seconded. We've been with them almost since Day One

I too have generally been happy in the nine years I've been with Zen but for me this issue came hot on the heels of Zen making something of a dog's dinner of handling my recent flat move. Hopefully this isn't the start of a decline and they'll learn lessons from their handling of the router update mess.

This option does not appear for me.

Maybe I need a 4/5G USB dongle installed to have this option?

The AVM guide pages certainly suggest that the 4g/5g modem with sim card should be plugged in first.

https://en.avm.de/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-B...

Under Internet>Account Information>Internet Connection>Internet Service Provider I have the following options:

Zen Internet
Other Service Provider
Existing Connection over LAN
Existing Connection over WiFi
Mobile Service Provider

However, when Mobile Service Provider is selected, the following text is displayed:
"To set up an internet connection over the mobile communications network, first connect your mobile device with the FRITZ!Box."

Edited by paulby (Thu 24-Oct-24 19:24:21)

You need to access the ADVANCED menu followed by SYSTEM and PUSH SERVICE.

https://en.avm.de/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-B...

Advanced menu option does not appear under three dots thingy on my Zen-supplied 7530 AX

Only Change password and Log off.

May be different on the 7530AX but on the 7530 it's under System (menu on LHS)>Push Service - there is no advanced option (that disappeared with a previous OS update - 7.50).

Edited by paulby (Thu 24-Oct-24 20:00:47)

Thanks for trying. That's a good point....any rough idea how old your 7530 is as I see that there are two versions, thanks to the link that NewMoon sent.

Thanks Paul...so I guess that you are not on version 8 looking at that menu structure.

I'm on version 8!
https://1drv.ms/i/s!AoJvaq9KS5p0gvgF6jY-qxtPn35CWA?e...

Edited by paulby (Thu 24-Oct-24 21:40:36)

Maybe but I have inserted my donlge into the three routers that I have here ...two 7530's and the AX. One works, two do not ...all with dongle inserted. Thanks to your link, I know realise that there are two versions of the 7530 and I suspect that the one that does work is v.1

Sent you a PM, by the way.

LOL...


It's not Internet > Account Settings.

It should be (if mobile is enabled)

Internet > Mobile Network

I'm wondering if this only worked on a v1 7530 and has been 'disabled' by whatever Zen has spec'd.

Got my AX today, problem gone.

😀

We've got Fibrus knocking at our door with FTTP. I watched the fibre going in. Just had a fatuous reply from Tech support and I really, really feel sorry for those guys. They do want to help but I have a strong suspicion that management are not telling them the whole story. I also suspect that management have KPI's in place that favour profit over customer service.

There is IMO just one solution but it costs money. Management know it.

Replace the 7530 of anyone who complains with a 7530AX.

Me ? After being with Zen almost since they started and being a very vocal and positive advocate, recommending them to many, many people, it is really sad that it has come to this.

This is what I have (with no dongle connected):

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AoJvaq9KS5p0gvgIfR2yW0IjHhR52A?e...

Then displays text saying to connect a mobile device when you select Mobile Network Provider. Haven't tried connecting a dongle to see what happens (would need to dig out an old, out of use, Three mobile data dongle to try!!).

I suspect the menu will change to what you've posted when a dongle is connected.

Edited by paulby (Thu 24-Oct-24 21:57:52)

Hi, I have a non-Zen but still UK version of the 7530 connected to vodafone broadband. It worked superbly with fritz!os version 7.59 but has been frequently restarting since applying version 8 on Friday.

I contacted the AVM helpdesk and they advised a factory reset. I did this yesterday and restored the settings I was using but the restarts continued. They seemed to say that too many connections going through the fritz box could crash it. But I have only about 6 or 7 devices connected and it worked without problems for a few months with the same devices connected before the "upgrade".

I had several custom settings applied, for example, wifi schedule, split 2.4 and 5ghz wifi bands, and energy saving mode turned on. I'm now trying a factory reset with fewer custom settings applied to see if that stops the reboots.

Incidentally, AVM told me that it wasn't a known issue for them.

In reply to a post by paulby:

Under Internet>Account Information>Internet Connection>Internet Service Provider I have the following options:

Zen Internet
Other Service Provider
Existing Connection over LAN
Existing Connection over WiFi
Mobile Service Provider

However, when Mobile Service Provider is selected, the following text is displayed:
"To set up an internet connection over the mobile communications network, first connect your mobile device with the FRITZ!Box."

Thats where it is for me too, Ill check my old 7530 too as about to reset it before return

In reply to a post by jamsmv6:

In reply to a post by paulby:

Under Internet>Account Information>Internet Connection>Internet Service Provider I have the following options:

Zen Internet
Other Service Provider
Existing Connection over LAN
Existing Connection over WiFi
Mobile Service Provider

However, when Mobile Service Provider is selected, the following text is displayed:
"To set up an internet connection over the mobile communications network, first connect your mobile device with the FRITZ!Box."

Thats where it is for me too, Ill check my old 7530 too as about to reset it before return

Yes, same on the old one

Bang on the money, Paul. You've provided the solution that neither Zen nor AVM were able to.

Thank you.

Incidentally, AVM told me that it wasn't a known issue for them.

It is...just that they seem to be very bad at keeping their HelpDesk folk up-to-date with the latest issues. Bit like Zen TBH.

This morning I received this from a source within AVM

This issue impacts all FRITZ!Box 7530s and is not related to provider branding. We are working on a solution and will provide an update as soon as possible.

Frtizbox has a notification option for each event when it receives an IP address.

I tried and failed to get this set-up. Must try harder.

@countryman69 thank you for the info about AVM working on a fix - that's very good to know. I will ask the helpdesk if it is possible to be updated when the fix is ready

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and I'm grateful for the info you've all supplied.

After having a reply from AVM saying there was no path to revert to version 7.59, I've had another giving a link to do just that.

We are currently still investigating the reboot issue with the FRITZ!Box 7530 running FRITZ!OS 8.00 on Zen Internet lines.

Until we can offer a solution with a future FRITZ!OS update, you can install FRITZ!OS 7.59 that you can download from our server:

Link to 7.59 f/w download
Password: Bz8Xc9uF3g

You can install the Windows based recovery tool as described in this guide:

For some reason I cannot paste the link, so here is it as text:
https://en.avm.de/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRITZ-B...
Please note, the recovery tool will factory reset the FRITZ!Box.
If you still have an EXPORT file compiled with FRITZ!OS 7.59 or older (that are usually saved and sent by push email when updating the FRITZ!OS - if set in the user interface), you can restore the settings.

Mr B

My 7530 is at least 5 years old.

Returning it to Zen today.

I'm confused now as I've had two emails from AVM.

Email 1 says "...that all 7530 routers are affected regardless of ISP"

Email 2 says "...the FRITZ!Box 7530 only has this reboot issue with Zen Internet's line and works fine with all other providers in Europe and other parts of the world"

Just gone back to the start of this thread and see NewMoon has a 7530 on PlusNet and started having problems after moving to v8. Guess that answers my question.

Edited by countryman69 (Mon 28-Oct-24 17:46:30)

In reply to a post by countryman69:

Just gone back to the start of this thread and see NewMoon has a 7530 on PlusNet and started having problems after moving to v8. Guess that answers my question.

But then again, that is possibly the only comment anywhere linking the problem with an ISP other than Zen

Here's the latest response that I've had from Zen:

===
Here at Zen, we have been made aware that this issue is not related to the firmware update and is in fact that the chip that is used to update the Fritz!Box which may have been damaged.

As you mentioned, it does seem to be more DSL connections that seem to have been affected rather than the full fibre connections.

The issue is said to have been resolved, so if you wish to carry out the firmware update, please feel free to do so but please monitor the connection for 24 hours following this, and should there be any issues, please be sure to let me know.
===

Does this make sense to you? It's all a bit vague. What chip could be meant? One in a Zen server? And I don't like that "is said to have been"

Has anyone else been told anything similar?

I'm sticking with v7.59 until I've been told something firmer.

I too have no reason to update yet and while it is (apparently) an irreversible update.

And this is with me being all in favour of automatic patching updates for computers as long as they don't randomly restart at time frames outside my choosing.

I want to see a consistent statement.

The ISPs management system having an entry for v8 firmware that did not exactly match the version string what the routers were downloading, and so commanding them to keep downloading a "new" update was the most plausible explanation given so far, since both human data entry errors, off-by-one errors and effects of "<" vs "≤" comparison logic are recognisably common things in programming.

Either we we see a point release of the firmware with a fix or confirmation from other customers that Zen have changed something in their management system to stop sending commands for the recurring restarts.

At the very least they could be reducing that retry to one attempt per day e.g. at 5am and then the impact would be vastly less. There was never a good reason for a 20 min retry.

All the professional switches and some of the routers I use at work have a dual image system such that if you don't like what a new firmware does you reboot right back into the last known working one.

Edited by prlzx (Mon 28-Oct-24 19:49:53)

I just wanted to mention thanks to everyone's comments on this website, I had been really struggling with the constant reboots every few hours.
I also have a 7530 (non AX) which was working perfectly fine for the last three years until this v8.00 update.
After reading through the comments, I decided not to stress myself out calling Zen and resolved the issue as follows:

1. Use Internet Archive to download previous version of https://download.avm.de/fritzbox/fritzbox-7530/other... . This yielded FRITZ.Box_7530-07.56.exe
2. Follow the instructions in the wizard to set up your PC and Fritz Box to do the download
3. Read the error
"Note: The device contains basic settings adapted for your Internet Service Provider (2018-02-01_zen). Recovery could make the device inoperable on the 2018-02-01_zen network.
Please contact your Internet Service Provider instead.
Aborting the recovery."
4. Use the instructions at https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/installation/rec... to circumvent the error above. I only had to do "quote UNSETENV provider" and then the flash worked.
5. Now you have a stock (non Zen) Fritz Box running v7.56. Crucially, the function to "Receive updates from internet provider" which was force ticked on in the Zen firmware no longer appears.
6. Disable all automatic updates!
7. As this is now stock firmware, the auto provisioning no longer works. Configure the VDSL settings manually using https://www.zen.co.uk/help-support/general-settings-... - in particular the VLAN ID is required.
8. Everything works as it should, no more rebooting!

My 7530 is connected to Vodafone DSL and has the problem.
Maybe it’s an interaction with how Openreach configure DSL and the v8.0 firmware that’s underlying the issue.
The Fritzbox reports that the DSL cabinet is running on a Broadcom system

In reply to a post by anidaru:

5. Now you have a stock (non Zen) Fritz Box running v7.56. Crucially, the function to "Receive updates from internet provider" which was force ticked on in the Zen firmware no longer appears.

Good overall post except item 5 - relating to the Internet > Account Information > Provider Services tab

I have Zen firmware and the function that is ticked and greyed out is not for firmware updates but for receiving automatic configuration information such as Internet account settings and VoIP settings. In general you should leave this on if you want services and service changes you order from Zen to work without manual intervention.

There is a separate tickbox directly beneath this which controls whether the ISP can direct the router to update its firmware automatically which you can untick.

The above is entirely separate from the System > Update > Auto Update settings.

This was covered earlier in the thread but not everyone reads in flat mode before posting.

No it makes no sense at all....the chip that does the firmware got damaged !!!! How ? Whose ??

In reply to a post by parklife:

My 7530 is connected to Vodafone DSL and has the problem.
Maybe it’s an interaction with how Openreach configure DSL and the v8.0 firmware that’s underlying the issue.
The Fritzbox reports that the DSL cabinet is running on a Broadcom system

So...no exclusive to Zen

But the Openreach suggestion merits investigation.

I am on Broadcom: Version 12.3.16

What are the rest of you on ?

In reply to a post by prlzx:

.....

The ISPs management system having an entry for v8 firmware that did not exactly match the version string what the routers were downloading, and so commanding them to keep downloading a "new" update was the most plausible explanation given so far, ...

So why are so few people being affected ..as we are led to believe?

Broadcom: Version 10.9.42

Very fair and indeed I had missed this
I am not sure I trust Zen to manage their own provisioning right now, although up to this incident it has been fine.
Caveat emptor to anyone who tries - it may solve the issue right now but might cause complications down the road..

So have you recovered to an earlier version or are you running v8 (but un-Zenned) ?

Hi, My fritzbox is reporting, Broadcom: Version 10.9.42
It is using G.INP in both directions, profile 17a, and carrier record A43

Curiously, reducing the memory use (by turning off features etc, using only 5GHz wifi etc.) seems to have made the box more stable: it has currently run for about 26 hours on version 8.0 since a reboot.

Edited by parklife (Wed 30-Oct-24 09:01:12)

Mine is
Manufacturer/Model: Huawei
Broadcom: Version 12.3.16

Re-reading this thread, there are so many variables in the melting pot and possible lines of enquiry. Here's my take - feel free to shoot it down.

1) We have New Moon on PlusNet and parklife on Vodafone - both with problems. Does this not rule out anything to do with Zen firmware (if indeed there is such a variation in the Zen 7530) or their configuration ? If it was down to Zen firmware or their configuration then surely there would be more complaints out there ? Again, IMO, rules out Zen firmware and configuration stuff

2) Seems not to affect those using an external modem - FTTP etc. So conclusion - DSL perhaps is the cause but not the underlying reason.....

3) Handling the DSL line, tracking it's ups and downs in terms of profiles etc stability etc, error correction etc etc This heavy-lifting is handled by a SoC (System on a Chip) but read on.

4) There are two different h/w versions of the 7530 out there. The main difference (to my untrained eye) is that the SoC (system-on-a-chip) that handles ADSL/VDSL changes.

5) It would be interesting to know if those having problems have the same version of the 7530...perhaps the original version with a lower performing SoC ? We have no way of knowing and one would hope that AVM keep a record and that it could be found by using the serial number. If it turned out that we were all on 7530v1 then there's the problem. The v1 needs extra processing/memory outside the SoC but, after v8, the 'reserve' available for this is iffy and perhaps we get memory leakage, out of bounds sort of stuff and a reboot.

But then again...what do I know !

Just my two ha'porth.

Message from Zen (on Twitter - I always DM them if I have an issue):



Thank you for reaching out. Yes, the latest update has been temporarily blocked as it was causing issues for a percentage of Fritz!Boxes. This will be unlocked again once AVM has the latest update.

I hope this helps.

Thanks - Gavin

Because I don't know what proportion of Zen users were issued the 7530 vs AX or something else nor how many people defer the auto updates, nor how quickly they made that change in their management system, I have tried to hold off from further speculation that would require inside knowledge.

I did post on the main site news article that Zen would have been more transparent to post a very specific stat so I won't duplicate that here.

Your comment re stats made me think. Zen were very quick to say that it was 0.5% or somesuch. Expanding on my last post, posit Zen know just how many 7530 v1's they have installed out there. And maybe 0.5% of the userbase ? Just saying.....

I've been in touch with Zen over several days as I also have this issue with frequent reboots since it updated to version 8.00 of the software (I have a regular 7530, not the AX version). The most recent advice they've given me is to factory reset the router. I've seen some comments that people have factory reset but been no better off so this is discouraging me.

Has anyone done a factory reset on a regular Fritzbox 7530 and got a stable connection after?

Your post is so profoundly depressing because Zen really still hasn't done anything to brief their support people. They seem intent on a race to the bottom to get a 1* rating with all the Award people..

No, a factory reset does nothing to resolve this. The best option to increase the gap between reboots IMO is to reduce the load on the router by, for example, disabling either of the wi-fi channels.

Mine was factory reset by a Zen service agent over two weeks ago, to no effect. They've since swapped my early 7530 for an AX (which is running 8.0 with no issues).

Edited by GavinMH (Wed 30-Oct-24 18:43:57)

The factory reset and also reverting to "older DSL format" did not help for me either.

Zen have sent me a 7530AX, which fixed it immediately, and also gives me WiFi6 functionality in my whole house. Previously I only had that from my FritzExtender 1200AX.

I suspect Zen are going to have to upgrade all their old 7530 customers to the AX model if they are going to save their reputation. It does seem to have been badly handled.

Luckily I have no complaints about the service I received, and will be staying with them at least for the time being.

I went through all the troubleshooting (factory reset, building settings manually a bit at a time) and it didn't help.

Push for an AX. It's much better. Totally stable, much faster UI which builds confidence in it's ability, and my mesh hand-overs now work perfectly even during a WiFi phone call.

7530 OS 8 update, massive instability.
2 weeks of bull from Zen, finally they send a replacement router out, an old 7530 as they gave used all the AX's for other people. At this point I care little as I'm already moving.
Replacement router arrives on OS 7.59, runs fine for 2 weeks.
Last night despite me thinking I'd found the right setting to prevent auto updates, it auto updates (that'll teach me for not checking every sub-menu ion the UI and trusting that Level 1 or whatever did the right thing).
This morning, crashes twice within 20 minutes as soon as any load hits in.
Zen support has been shambolic during this, I look forward to no longer having to use them or their AVM hardware.
1 week till I move ISP, I hope they can tell their which one is their elbow and which isn't!

There's a downside of switching to AX: it features only a USB 2.0 port (yes, seriously, in the 2020s) whereas the non-AX version has a USB 3.0. So, if like me you run a media server, you might prefer to wait for a fix.

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 31-Oct-24 14:29:59)

I'm on Plusnet and experiencing the exact same problem with reboots. Zen branded box.

Connection type: VDSL2 17a (ITU G.993.2)
Manufacturer/Model: -
Broadcom: Version 10.9.42

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 31-Oct-24 14:36:40)

I can't believe they are still pumping out the duff update! Why not pull it for heaven's sake!

Edited by Glenn2 (Thu 31-Oct-24 15:10:58)

I don't think that anyone in management has taken ownership of the problem.

Downgrading a Zen-branded 7530 to Fritz!OS v. 7.59

I've just managed to downgrade a Zen-branded box to Fritz!OS v. 7.59. The box got debranded in the process. Optionally, remote management can be disabled in the process.

Steps:

1. Download v. 7.59 recovery executable from here.
2. Set your Ethernet adapter to 192.168.178.x/24, default gateway: 192.168.178.1.
3. Connect the 7530 to the Ethernet port via LAN1 port.
4. Start recovery. Allow through Windows firewall if asked.
— If you get a "version not identified" error, try setting the Ethernet adapter to 10Mbps half-duplex.
— If you still see "custom firmware" error message, use command line to set provider and firmware_version environment variables via ftp (either don't close the error message when starting FTP, or restart the router and run FTP command within 2–3 seconds of powering on):

ftp -n 192.168.178.1
quote USER adam2
quote PASS adam2
quote SETENV firmware_version avme
quote UNSETENV provider

then, without rebooting the router, run recovery again.

After several attempts, my box accepted the recovery and downgraded cleanly to 7.59, losing the Zen branding and their DSL configuration presets in the process.

5. Do configuration restore using the 7.59 backup file that you should have received by push email when the box upgraded to v. 8.0.
— You might like to edit the configuration file and disable certain parameters related to remote management (TR-069). Just search for tr069. A simple option is removing the management server URL. Certainly, disabling remote firmware upgrades would make a lot of sense.

Good luck!

P.S. If your time is worth more than 40-something quids, then an eBay seller is selling unbranded 7530 boxes on v. 7.x (they call them 7530 unlocked).

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 31-Oct-24 18:12:34)

Looking at how this rumbles on and on and on, I am just wondering. Everybody and his dog must have a few spare routers lying around. Why don't people have an old router configured for their current service and pop it in when something like this happens?

Zen is an internet provider who's been offering its customers FB 7530 routers for 6 or so years. Many (most?) people do not have an older router; and even if there was one, it'd likely support only WiFi 4. There's little point of going back to decade-old hardware.

Me for instance I rely on VoIP and Wireguard VPN integrated into the 7530. Show me another brand that does the same and I'll gladly switch.

Edited by NewMoon (Thu 31-Oct-24 19:57:57)

Many (most?) people do not have an older router; and even if there was one, it'd likely support only WiFi 4.

Against a near show stopper, WiFi4 might not be so bad. Most devices should step back the wifi.

There's little point of going back to decade-old hardware.

Half decade is not so bad. The point is that the decade old hardware is likely to perform better than the broken new hardware people are using while Zen have not got their act together.

Me for instance I rely on VoIP and Wireguard VPN integrated into the 7530. Show me another brand that does the same and I'll gladly switch.

Shows that integration of too much functionality into the router has a distinct downside, especially if that functionality can easily be jeopardised by software upgrades outwith your control.

I did. I had another 7530 ...all set up and ready to go. I missed the second update backdoor....oops. Now I have two bricks.

Good post.

WiFi4 might not be so bad.

Unless you live in a block of flats with 30+ WiFi-4 networks blocking the airwaves.

Half decade is not so bad.

The 7530 is half-decade old. Older junk would be a full decade old.

Shows that integration of too much functionality into the router has a distinct downside

I don't consider it "too much". Also, having more devices causes way more compatibility problems. Besides, it's like comparing a laptop with an assembled desktop computer: some people love having separate monitor, keyboard, mouse, sound card, graphics card, etc., while others prefer a single device. Sure, having all in one device has a distinct downside; having many devices has many more downsides, though.

In reply to a post by Ornette:

Message from Zen (on Twitter - I always DM them if I have an issue):

Thank you for reaching out. Yes, the latest update has been temporarily blocked as it was causing issues for a percentage of Fritz!Boxes. This will be unlocked again once AVM has the latest update.

I hope this helps.

Thanks - Gavin

Sadly this appears to be wrong.
My 7530 upgraded '01.11.2024 2:27' - I have had around 10 reboots since 7am.

2 online chats with Zen and they are sending me a replacement router (after a factory reset).
I suspect it won't be the AX model and sadly I suspect I'll end up leaving Zen.

The inability of Zen and/or AVM to pause the faulty upgrade after several weeks of issues is very concerning especially from an ISP that prides themselves on stability, customer service, etc.

It's such a shame as the line has been great for years and the FRITZ!Box router has been exceptional, especially as AVM support the devices for years (unlike others e.g. TP-Link).

Two lines - 7530AX on ZEN with 8.00 completely fine for a couple of weeks now.

7530 on PlusNet upgraded early Thursday morning... been rebooting like a mad thing ever since.

I will try and put 7.59 on it, but it appears to have gone missing from the AVM website, will check the alternative link (OtterTel?).