Once upon a time, the internet was peaceful.
You could open a website, read an article, and not be bombarded with pop-ups, auto-playing videos, and floating “Subscribe Now” banners chasing you like digital mosquitoes.
Fast forward to today, and browsing the web feels like walking through Times Square with a flashing migraine. Every website loads layers of ads, trackers, autoplay videos, and cookies that know more about you than your closest friend.
And if you think, “I’ll just use an ad blocker,” — well, think again.
Thanks to Google Chrome’s Manifest V3 update, most traditional ad blockers have been crippled or stopped working entirely.
So what now? Are we doomed to live in an endless storm of intrusive pop-ups and autoplaying nightmare fuel?
No. There’s a way out — and it doesn’t involve paying for “premium ad-free” subscriptions.
Enter Pi-hole, the ultimate open-source ad blocker that doesn’t just stop ads in your browser… it stops them across your entire network.
Let’s dive into what it is, how it works, and how to set it up step by step.
🌐 What Is Pi-hole?
Let’s start with the basics.
Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker — think of it as a digital filter sitting between your devices and the internet.
Instead of blocking ads inside your browser like normal extensions do, Pi-hole operates at the DNS level — the system responsible for turning website names (like example.com) into their real IP addresses.
When you use the internet, your device asks a DNS server where to find a website. Along with that website, a ton of ad and tracker scripts try to load from other domains. Your browser doesn’t question it — it obediently loads everything.
That’s where Pi-hole steps in.
You can imagine Pi-hole as a security guard at the gate of your network. When your computer or phone requests a domain, Pi-hole checks if that domain is safe.
- If it’s part of a known ad or tracker network, Pi-hole simply refuses the request.
- The ad never loads. The tracker never runs.
- You just get clean, fast content.
It’s like the ad never existed. No placeholders, no broken boxes — just peaceful, uncluttered browsing.
And because Pi-hole works at the network level, it filters ads for every device on your Wi-Fi:
- Phones
- Laptops
- Smart TVs
- Gaming consoles
- Even your smart fridge (which probably knows too much about your eating habits already).
So far, so good. But to really appreciate Pi-hole, let’s take a quick look at how DNS-based blocking works behind the scenes.
🧠 How Pi-hole Works — The Simple Explanation
The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the internet’s phonebook. When you type a web address, DNS finds the correct IP address for that site.
Normally, your device sends DNS requests to your ISP’s server or a public DNS like Google (8.8.8.8). But with Pi-hole, your devices send these requests to your own DNS server — your Pi-hole installation.
Here’s what happens next:
- Your phone requests a site (say newswebsite.com).
- Pi-hole intercepts the DNS request and checks it against its blocklist, which contains known ad and tracking domains.
- If the request matches something like ads.doubleclick.net or trackers.analytics.com, Pi-hole blocks it instantly.
- If it’s a legitimate domain, Pi-hole forwards it to an upstream DNS (like Cloudflare or OpenDNS).
- The site loads clean — minus all the unwanted baggage.
The best part? You don’t need to install anything on your devices. Once Pi-hole is active on your network, every connected device automatically benefits.
💻 Step 1: What You’ll Need
Let’s move to the setup. You don’t need expensive hardware — just a few simple components.
Here’s what you’ll need to run Pi-hole:
- A computer or small server to host it. This could be:
- An old laptop collecting dust
- A low-power mini PC
- A Raspberry Pi
- Or a ZimaBoard, which is an affordable mini x86 board
- An internet connection (wired preferred, wireless works too)
- A lightweight Linux distribution such as Debian or Ubuntu
Optionally, you can make your life easier by installing CasaOS, a free web-based dashboard that makes app management effortless — perfect for beginners.
💡 Note: While Pi-hole can technically run on a Raspberry Pi, for larger homes or multiple 4K devices, a small desktop or ZimaBoard performs better and provides faster DNS response times.
🧩 Step 2: Installing the Base System (Debian or Ubuntu)
If you’re starting from scratch, first install Debian 12 (Bookworm) or Ubuntu Server LTS.
The process is simple:
- Download the ISO from Debian.org or Ubuntu.com.
- Burn it to a USB drive using Rufus or Balena Etcher.
- Boot from the USB and follow the installer — mostly just Next, Next, Finish.
Once installed, you’ll have a clean, Linux-based system ready to host CasaOS and Pi-hole.
🏠 Step 3: Installing CasaOS — The Easy Dashboard
CasaOS acts like a central control panel for your home server. Instead of typing endless terminal commands, you’ll have a clean web interface to install, manage, and update apps.
To install CasaOS, run the following in your Linux terminal:
curl -fsSL https://get.casaos.io | sudo bash
This script automatically installs CasaOS and its dependencies. Once complete, it will display your local IP address — something like:
http://192.168.1.100:80
Open that address in your browser, and you’ll see the CasaOS dashboard.
You can now install apps directly from the built-in App Store — including Pi-hole.
🔧 Step 4: Installing Pi-hole Through CasaOS
Here’s where the magic begins.
- From your CasaOS dashboard, open the App Store.
- In the search bar, type Pi-hole (you’ll see it listed as “Pi-Hole” or “pihole”).
- Click Install.
- Copy the default admin password shown on-screen — you’ll need it later to access the Pi-hole dashboard.
Once installed, Pi-hole will automatically start running in the background.
Open it by clicking Open App, or visit:
http://<your-device-IP>/admin
You’ll be greeted by the Pi-hole dashboard, showing statistics like queries blocked, percentage of ads filtered, and total domains on your blocklist.
So far we’ve installed Pi-hole, but now comes the fun part — configuration.
⚙️ Step 5: Configuring Pi-hole (Blocklists and Whitelists)
Inside the Pi-hole dashboard, you’ll see several menus like Dashboard, Group Management, Adlists, and Whitelist.
Here’s what each does, and how to use them effectively:
- Adlists (Blacklists):
These are lists of domains known to serve ads, trackers, or malicious content. Pi-hole blocks anything from these lists automatically. You can find curated adlists on GitHub repositories such as:- StevenBlack/hosts — general-purpose ad and tracker blocking oisd.nl — a frequently updated blocklist The Block List Project — specialized lists (ads, phishing, malware, adult content, etc.)
- Go to Group Management → Adlists.
- Click Add, paste the list URL, and click Save and Update.
- Whitelist:
Sometimes Pi-hole can over-block and prevent certain legitimate sites from loading properly. You can fix that by adding those domains to your whitelist. Go to Whitelist → Add Domain, type the site (e.g.,youtube.com), and save.
Once you’ve adjusted your lists, click Update Gravity (Pi-hole’s fancy term for reloading all blocklists).
🌐 Step 6: Setting Pi-hole as Your DNS Server
Now it’s time to make your network use Pi-hole for all DNS queries.
There are two ways to do this:
Option 1 — Configure at Router Level (Recommended)
- Log in to your router’s web interface.
- Find the DNS Settings or Network Configuration section.
- Replace the default DNS (like 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1) with the IP address of your Pi-hole server (e.g.,
192.168.1.233). - Save and restart your router.
Now, every device connected to your network automatically routes DNS traffic through Pi-hole.
Option 2 — Configure Per Device
If you don’t want to change router settings, you can manually update the DNS server on each device.
On Windows:
- Open Network & Internet Settings → Adapter Options.
- Right-click your connection → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
- Select Use the following DNS server addresses and enter:
Preferred: 192.168.x.x (your Pi-hole IP) Alternate: 1.1.1.1 (optional backup) - Click OK, then open Command Prompt and run:
ipconfig /flushdns
On macOS or Linux:
Go to Network Preferences → DNS and enter your Pi-hole IP manually.
🧪 Step 7: Testing the Results
Now comes the moment of truth.
Visit any ad-heavy website — maybe a news portal or a blog notorious for pop-ups.
If everything is configured correctly, you’ll see a clean, ad-free webpage.
No flashing banners. No “subscribe” boxes blocking the text. No autoplaying videos.
Back in your Pi-hole dashboard, you’ll notice live statistics:
- Domains queried
- Ads blocked
- Percentage of traffic filtered
You’ve officially created your own network-wide ad blocker.
⚡ Step 8: Going Beyond the Basics
Now that Pi-hole is running smoothly, you can enhance it further with these tips:
- Integrate with Unbound:
Add an extra layer of privacy by setting up Unbound, a local recursive DNS resolver that encrypts DNS queries and avoids third-party DNS servers. - Enable Dark Mode & Auto Updates:
You can easily toggle dark mode and enable automatic gravity updates via the Settings menu. - Monitor Queries:
Use Query Log in the dashboard to see which domains are being blocked — it’s surprisingly eye-opening how many trackers run silently behind websites and apps. - Add Custom Blocklists:
You can tailor your blocklists to block adult content, malware, or even social media distractions for productivity.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I use Pi-hole with my smartphone or smart TV?
Yes. Once your router is configured, every device on your Wi-Fi — including phones, TVs, and consoles — benefits from Pi-hole automatically.
Q2. Does Pi-hole slow down the internet?
Quite the opposite. By blocking heavy ad scripts, websites often load faster. You also save bandwidth.
Q3. Do I still need a browser ad blocker?
Not necessarily, but you can still use one for cosmetic blocking (hiding blank spaces). Pi-hole prevents ads from loading at all.
Q4. Is Pi-hole safe?
Completely. It’s open-source, self-hosted, and doesn’t log or sell your data.
Q5. Can I run Pi-hole on Windows?
While Pi-hole was built for Linux, you can run it in a virtual machine, Docker container, or through Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
🧭 Final Thoughts
So far, we’ve done a great job building something truly powerful — an internet that works for you, not for advertisers.
By installing Pi-hole, you’ve:
- Reclaimed privacy from data-hungry ad networks.
- Eliminated distractions across every device.
- Improved page load speeds and network efficiency.
- Taken back control of your browsing experience.
The internet doesn’t have to look like a flashing casino. With Pi-hole, you decide what gets through the gate — and what gets banished forever.
No more pop-ups. No autoplay videos. No tracking cookies following you like a shadow.
Just clean, focused, peaceful browsing — the way the web was meant to be.
And if advertisers are reading this… sorry, but we will never surrender.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This guide is for educational and informational purposes only. Pi-hole is legal open-source software designed for personal use on private networks. Blocking or filtering content on shared or public networks may violate terms of service — always ensure you comply with your local regulations.
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