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Freetz-EVO on Mobile Devices

Using Freetz-EVO as a mobile app

The Freetz-EVO web interface is fully responsive and designed to work comfortably on smartphones and tablets. The navigation adapts to a fixed bottom bar with a slide-up drawer, dark mode is available, and the layout is touch-friendly throughout.

Saving to the home screen (Android / iOS)

The simplest way to get an app-like experience is to save the Freetz-EVO page to your device's home screen directly from your browser:

  • Android (Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet): open the page, tap the browser menu (⋮), then Add to Home Screen / Install app
  • iOS (Safari): open the page, tap the share icon (□↑), then Add to Home Screen

The Freetz-EVO skin ships a manifest.json, themed icons (192×192 and larger), and the necessary <meta> tags (mobile-web-app-capable, apple-mobile-web-app-capable, theme-color) so the browser will present the full install prompt.

Best experience: Samsung Internet Mobile Browser

Among Android browsers, Samsung Internet (available on Google Play for all Android devices, not only Samsung) delivers the closest experience to a native PWA:

  • The address bar and navigation chrome fully hide when launched from the home screen icon
  • The bottom navigation bar of Freetz-EVO integrates naturally with the gesture navigation of modern Android
  • The status-bar color matches the Freetz-EVO theme (blue for light mode, dark for dark mode)

The result is indistinguishable from a natively installed Progressive Web App.

Full PWA installation via HTTPS (freetz_proxy)

PWA installation (with service worker and offline support) requires HTTPS with a valid certificate. This can be achieved using freetz_proxy combined with the FritzBox's built-in HTTPS server:

  1. Ensure the freetz_proxy package is installed and configured (see docs/make/freetz-proxy.md).
  2. Access Freetz-EVO via the proxy URL:
    Text Only
    https://fritz.box/cgi-bin/freetz_proxy?service=freetz

    This is served over the FritzBox's own trusted HTTPS certificate.
  3. From this HTTPS URL, Chrome/Samsung Internet will offer a full Install app prompt and register the service worker.
  4. The same HTTPS URL is also reachable externally via MyFRITZ!, so the app works both at home and on mobile data without any port-forwarding or separate VPN setup.

Note: without HTTPS (i.e. accessing http://fritz.box:81/) the browser can still add the page to the home screen, but the installation will not use a service worker — it behaves as a simple shortcut. The user experience is still good; the only difference is no offline fallback.

Access from the internet

Because freetz_proxy runs inside the FritzBox HTTPS CGI infrastructure it is protected by FritzBox authentication and reachable via MyFRITZ! (https://<boxid>.myfritz.net/cgi-bin/freetz_proxy). No extra port-forwarding is needed.