Guide · 4 min read
Set up Pi-hole: block ads across your whole home network (incl. FRITZ!Box)
Imagine the ads disappearing on every device in your home at once: phone, laptop, tablet, TV. Without installing anything on each one. That is exactly what Pi-hole does. All you need is a small computer running quietly in a corner and a few settings in your router.
At a glance
- Pi-hole is a free, open-source ad and tracker blocker for your whole home network.
- It runs on a small computer that is always on: a Raspberry Pi or a mini PC such as a thin client.
- According to its developers, Pi-hole needs only 512 MB of RAM and at least 2 GB of free storage.
- On a FRITZ!Box, you enter the Pi-hole as the "local DNS server", and every device then uses it automatically.
How does Pi-hole work?
Every time your phone loads a page, or an app fetches something from the internet, it first asks for the server's address. It is like looking something up in a phone book; the technical term is DNS. Pi-hole takes over this phone book for your whole home network.
If a device asks for a known advertising or tracking server, Pi-hole simply answers "does not exist". The ad is never loaded in the first place. Which servers are blocked is set out in blocklists that you choose in Pi-hole.
Good to know: Ads that come from the same server as the content itself, for example on YouTube, usually cannot be filtered out by Pi-hole. For lots of other things, it works very well.
What hardware do you need?
Pi-hole is modest. The main thing is that the computer runs around the clock, because without it your home network can no longer find any addresses. Pi-hole is available for the Raspberry Pi and for normal PCs with a 64-bit processor (x86_64).
| Feature | Pi-hole needs | Dell Wyse 3030 LT has |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 512 MB | 2 GB |
| Storage | at least 2 GB free, 4 GB recommended | 4 GB internal, more via USB stick |
| Processor | e.g. x86_64 or ARM | Intel Celeron N2807, 64-bit |
| Noise | doesn't matter | silent, no moving parts |
| Power | doesn't matter | less than 6 watts on average, according to Dell |
A thin client like the Wyse 3030 LT comes with everything: power supply, LAN port and a case. What else it can do is covered in our guide Thin client as a mini server.
Install Pi-hole in 5 steps
- Install Linux: Pi-hole runs on Debian, Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS, among others. A version without a desktop is enough for Pi-hole.
- Give it a fixed address: the Pi-hole always needs the same IP address on your home network. On a FRITZ!Box you do this under "Home Network" → "Network" for the device, with the option to always assign it the same IPv4 address.
- Install Pi-hole: start the official installer in the terminal with
curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash. It guides you through the setup with a few questions. - Set a password: use
pihole setpasswordto set the password for the web interface. You can then reach the interface in your browser athttp://IP-of-your-Pi-hole/admin. - Change your router settings: now tell your router that every device should use Pi-hole as its "phone book". The next section explains how to do this on a FRITZ!Box.
Tip: If you want to read what the installer does first, download it with curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net -o basic-install.sh, have a look inside and then start it with sudo bash basic-install.sh.
Pi-hole with a FRITZ!Box
On a FRITZ!Box, you enter the Pi-hole as the local DNS server. Every device then gets the address automatically as soon as it reconnects:
- Open the FRITZ!Box user interface in your browser.
- Go to "Home Network" → "Network" → "Network Settings" and open the IPv4 settings.
- The FRITZ!Box DHCP server must be switched on.
- Enter the IP address of your Pi-hole under "Local DNS server" and save.
- Reconnect your devices to the Wi-Fi or restart them. From now on, their requests go through Pi-hole.
On other routers the setting usually has a similar name: look for "DNS server" in the DHCP settings.
Note: This method does not filter the FRITZ!Box guest network. And if the Pi-hole is switched off, your devices can no longer find any internet addresses. So keep it running, or undo the setting on the FRITZ!Box.
Looking after Pi-hole: updates and lists
- Updates:
pihole -upbrings Pi-hole, the web interface and the built-in DNS service up to date. - Blocklists: you can add more lists in the web interface. More lists block more, but are also more likely to block something you need.
- Exceptions: if a website stops working, the query log shows you what was blocked, and you can allow the address.
Suitable hardware at Bodinos
The Dell Wyse 3030 LT is a silent thin client with more than enough RAM for Pi-hole. We have it in stock, used, with power supply. Shipped worldwide from Germany:
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Raspberry Pi for Pi-hole?
No. Pi-hole also runs on normal PCs with a 64-bit processor, for example on a thin client like the Dell Wyse 3030 LT. The only important thing is that the device is always on.
Where do I find the Pi-hole interface?
In your browser at http://IP-of-your-Pi-hole/admin. You set the password with pihole setpassword.
How do I update Pi-hole?
In the terminal with pihole -up. The command checks every part of Pi-hole and brings it up to date where needed.
Does Pi-hole block YouTube ads too?
Usually not, because the ads there come from the same server as the videos. On many other websites and apps, however, the ads disappear.
Does Pi-hole work with every router?
With most. You need a place in your router settings where you set the DNS server for your home network. On a FRITZ!Box it is called "Local DNS server".
You will find routers and more networking gear in our Wi-Fi routers category. What a thin client can do besides Pi-hole is covered in our guide Thin client as a mini server.