FritzBox Restart

A simple, safe automation tool to reboot your AVM FRITZ!Box router -- with two methods to choose from:

• API (TR-064) -- Lightweight SOAP call, no browser needed
• Web (Playwright) -- Browser automation through the FritzBox web interface

Tested with FritzBox 7590 running FritzOS 8.21 / 8.25

---

Features

• Two reboot methods -- Choose between the fast TR-064 API or the proven Playwright web automation
• Built-in safety confirmation before execution
• Credentials stored securely in a local .env file (excluded from git)
• Clean, readable CLI output with step-by-step progress
• Main script with method selection or standalone scripts for each method

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• A FRITZ!Box router accessible on your local network

For the API method (TR-064)

In your FritzBox web interface, enable TR-064 access:

Heimnetz > Netzwerk > Netzwerkeinstellungen > "Zugriff fuer Anwendungen zulassen" (Home Network > Network > Network Settings > "Allow access for applications")

For the Web method (Playwright)

Chromium must be installed via Playwright:

playwright install chromium

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/arithmetic-zz/FritzBox-Restart.git
cd FritzBox-Restart

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Only needed for the Web/Playwright method:
playwright install chromium

Configuration

Create a .env file in the project root with your FritzBox credentials:

FRITZBOX_URL=http://fritz.box
FRITZBOX_USERNAME=
FRITZBOX_PASSWORD=your_password_here

Variable	Required	Default	Description
FRITZBOX_PASSWORD	Yes	--	Your FritzBox login password
FRITZBOX_URL	No	http://fritz.box	URL or IP of your FritzBox
FRITZBOX_USERNAME	No	(empty)	Username (only needed if multiple users are configured on the FritzBox)

Note: The .env file is excluded from version control via .gitignore. Never commit your credentials.

Usage

Main script (interactive method selection)

python3 fritzbox_reboot.py

Main script with CLI argument

python3 fritzbox_reboot.py --method api   # Use TR-064 API
python3 fritzbox_reboot.py --method web   # Use Playwright

Standalone scripts

python3 fritzbox_reboot_api.py   # TR-064 API directly
python3 fritzbox_reboot_web.py   # Playwright directly

Example Output (API)

====================================================
  FritzBox Restart (API/TR-064) - Version 2.0
  Tested with FritzOS: 8.21 / 8.25
====================================================

  Are you sure you want to reboot your FritzBox? (yes/no): y

  -> Connecting to fritz.box via TR-064 ...
  -> Connected to FRITZ!Box 7590 (FritzOS 8.21).
  -> Sending reboot command ...

  [OK] FritzBox reboot triggered successfully.
  The router will restart now. This takes about 1-2 minutes.

  Save reboot command as standalone curl script? (yes/no): y

  [OK] Curl script saved to: /path/to/reboot_fritzbox.sh
  Run it with: ./reboot_fritzbox.sh

Standalone curl script

After a successful API reboot, you can save the reboot command as a standalone shell script (reboot_fritzbox.sh). This script uses plain curl with TR-064 SOAP — no Python required. Your credentials are embedded inline, so you can copy it anywhere and run it directly.

Note: The generated script contains your password in plain text and is excluded from version control via .gitignore.

./reboot_fritzbox.sh

Example Output (Web)

====================================================
  FritzBox Restart (Web/Playwright) - Version 2.0
  Tested with FritzOS: 8.21 / 8.25
====================================================

  Are you sure you want to reboot your FritzBox? (yes/no): y

  -> Connecting to http://fritz.box ...
  -> Logging in ...
  -> Login successful.
  -> Navigating to System > Sicherung (Backup) ...
  -> Looking for 'FRITZ!Box neu starten' card ...
  -> Clicking 'FRITZ!Box neu starten' ...
  -> Looking for confirmation button 'Neu starten' ...
  -> Confirming with 'Neu starten' ...

  [OK] FritzBox reboot triggered successfully.
  The router will restart now. This takes about 1-2 minutes.

Safety

API method

The TR-064 API sends a single Reboot SOAP command. No other actions are possible through this code path.

Web method

The Playwright script is designed with multiple layers of protection:

1. User confirmation -- You must type yes or y before anything happens
2. Exact text matching -- The script verifies the exact text content of every element before clicking
3. Abort on mismatch -- If any element text doesn't match expectations, the script aborts immediately
4. No destructive actions -- Factory reset, backup overwrite, and restore buttons are never interacted with

How It Works

API method (TR-064)

Uses the fritzconnection library to call the DeviceConfig1:Reboot action via the FritzBox's TR-064 SOAP interface. Authentication uses HTTP Digest. This is the fastest and most reliable method.

Web method (Playwright)

Uses Playwright to automate a Chromium browser:

1. Opens the FritzBox web interface
2. Logs in with the credentials from .env
3. Navigates to System > Sicherung (System > Backup)
4. Clicks the "FRITZ!Box neu starten" (restart FRITZ!Box) card (with text verification)
5. Confirms the reboot by clicking "Neu starten" (restart) (with text verification)
6. Closes the browser

Compatibility

FritzBox Model	FritzOS Version	Status
7590	8.21	Tested
7590	8.25	Tested

Other FritzBox models with FritzOS 7.x+ may work but are untested. Contributions welcome!

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.