AVM introduces Matter bridge support in the Fritz!Box 5690 Pro beta, moving the router closer to becoming a comprehensive smart home hub with native compatibility across major ecosystems.
AVM has pushed its FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro a step closer to becoming a full smart home hub by adding Matter bridge support in a new FRITZ! Lab beta, ahead of the wider FRITZ!OS 8.50 rollout. The feature is notable because it makes the 5690 Pro the first FRITZ!Box model able to expose FRITZ! Smart Home devices to Matter ecosystems directly through the router, without needing the separate FRITZ!Smart Gateway.
The beta arrives after AVM had already signalled that Matter support was coming and follows a period in which the router’s lack of native compatibility was seen as one of its few clear gaps. When the 5690 Pro launched, its hardware credentials were already strong, but its smart home credentials lagged behind some rivals. TechRadar described it as a high-end Wi-Fi 7 router with built-in modem options, DECT ULE and Zigbee support, while noting that its smart home ambitions were broader than those of a typical router.
According to AVM, the FRITZ! Lab channel is its public test bed for features that are still being refined before they reach a stable release. The company says the new 5690 Pro build also brings configurable DNS filters and automatic prioritisation, two functions that had already appeared in Lab firmware for the FRITZ!Box 7690. AVM’s website says the beta can be downloaded now and installed on supported hardware.
Matter is designed to let smart home devices from different brands work through a common control layer, usually via platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home or Amazon Alexa. In AVM’s setup, the FRITZ!Box acts as a bridge because FRITZ! Smart Home devices communicate over systems such as DECT ULE, HAN-FUN or Zigbee rather than Matter’s native protocol. That means devices already paired to the router, such as the FRITZ!Smart Thermo 302 radiator valve and other compatible accessories, can now be surfaced in Matter controllers as well as the FRITZ!App Smart Home.
AVM has published setup guides for adding the 5690 Pro to Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa. The company says the process is straightforward: users add the router as a Matter bridge in the relevant app, after which FRITZ! Smart Home devices become available there. The broader appeal is that Matter runs locally on the home network, reducing reliance on cloud services, although voice assistants still need internet access to work through their own platforms.
The update does not change the fact that the FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro is not officially sold in the UK, where it is often listed by retailers at roughly £340 to £370 depending on stock and import costs. AVM says the full Matter bridge capability should become more widely available once the feature graduates from FRITZ! Lab into a stable FRITZ!OS release.
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