https://assets.avm.de/files/docs/fritzbox/fritzbox-7590-ax-v...
"You can also enter the IP address of the FRITZ!Box or the emergency IP.
The preset IP address is: http://192.168.178.1
The emergency IP address is: http://169.254.1.1"
Typing "fritz.box" into a browser is useless unless one already has an internet connection.
If it's a remote DNS query then is that really "internal networking".
Looks like there's an ad for NFTs at fritz.box along with some links to Javascript files and nothing else. No content. I think I'd rather just use a local address.
It does look like the domain fritz.box is not owned by AVM, the manufacturer of the device. Apparently they didn't manage to register this domain once .box became available. So in the future they might want to use fritzbox.internal, if this proposal gets approved.
Typing "fritz.box" into a browser without an internet connection will not accomplish anything. To even get an IP address for "fritz.box" there needs to be either (a) an appropriate entry in /etc/hosts assuming the browser does not ignore /etc/hosts, (b) a DNS server on a loopback address or (c) a DNS server on the local network, _and_ the DNS server needs to have the IP address for "fritz.box" (so the person would have to know the address already, before connecting to the internet) _and_ the browser has been configured to use that local DNS server.
To demonstrate, assuming there is not a DNS server listening on the loopback address 127.23.59.88, change the DNS settings in the operating system to 127.23.59.88. Then try typing "fritz.box" to set up the router.
The reason an "alternative" method is provided in the instructions is because without an internet connection, typing "fritz.box" will not accomplish anything except generating an error.
The reason the company suggests that people type "fritz.box" instead of an IP address is likely because the operator of "fritz.box" website is advertising NFTs for sale. Not to mention the data collection the operator of fritz.box and potentially their marketing partners will gain with respect to people who own these routers. For example, everytime someone is configuring their router and types "fritz.box" the operator of "fritz.box" website gets to know about it.
The "alternative" method is the most reliable method, and the most private one. If we review the manuals for thousands of routers, we learn it is the most common method.
