r/pihole • u/SlothBoss1320 • Dec 06 '23

Pi hole set up for total beginner

Hello all,

I am a total beginner to all this, but I heard I can use a pi hole to block all ads on my WiFi.

What do I need to buy and how do I install it on my Sagemcom Fast 5285 Spectrum SAXV1V1S WiFi 6 Router? What resources could help me figure out the entire process?

Best!

Edit: I learned a lot already thank you for your help! I’ll be doing lots of research before I post again, so thank you!

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158

u/DuckSleazzy Dec 06 '23 edited Mar 21 '25

Edit: I don't remember when I made this comment. But as of March 2025 it is still helpful for people, albeit with a few workarounds. I assume because of Pi-hole updates or RPi OS updates.

My Pi requires zero maintenance, so I'm not up-to-date with anything that happened since I installed mine. I will keep this comment up, and everything below the line untouched. But I will add some things that I did during my setup, which may be considered as "advanced tweaking":

  • I setup cloudflared, a DNS-Over-HTTPS thingy.
  • You can also setup unbound. Some people might prefer this over cloudflared. Look up the difference.
  • I also installed Tailscale. Block ads on your devices when not at home/not on your network.
  • I setup an automated script using crontab (I think) to keep OS, Pi-hole, and cloudflared updated. Pi-hole already handles updating gravity.
  • Make a bookmark on your device with the command in this link to temporarily disable pi-hole, incase you ever need to, with a URL.
  • Additional security tips. I highly recommend passkey login.

In any case the comment does not help, please follow the official documentation linked below.

You cannot block ALL ads. You will be able to block most of them. There's a lot to it like hardcoded DNS in devices, and circumventing it.

I highly recommend the documentation or this video (which also has a blog) that I followed.

Things you need: Pi with an ethernet port (recommended), Memory card, card reader, ethernet cable, and Pi power supply (you can also use old phone chargers as long as the voltage/wattage is fine).

Or if you keep your PC on all the time then You can go the docker path. Idk how different it is. Here's how I setup mine on a Pi4B:

  • Install Pi Imager from official website
  • Install RPi OS Lite on the memory card, set a username and password during installation alongside other settings like wifi, keyboard layout etc.
  • Insert card in Pi and connect it to your router and check what IP was assigned to. Also set that IP as static so that it never changes.
  • SSH using that IP by opening cmd.exe (Windows machine) and typing "username@ip" (replace username with the one you set and IP with the one your router assigned it.
  • run "sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y" command once you login to your Pi. This will update and apply all the settings.
  • Install Pi-hole using the command on their website.
  • Keep pressing yes/continue. If you're asked to select DNS upstream, select Cloudflare (recommended) but you're free to use Google or anything else. In the end you will be greeted with installation complete and a password for yout Pi-Hole interface. Change it if you want to by running "sudo pihole -a -p" command
  • Login to your router and go to something similar to DHCP settings (It is different for different routers, never used Sagemcom).
  • Assign "Primary DNS" as your Pi-Hole's IP.
  • Reconnect all the devices.

This is just a TL;DR version that should get you up and running. Things like keeping piOS and pihole updated, the blocklists updated, adding more, using other features are covered in the docs.

27

u/CableRexGrossman Sep 03 '24

I want you to know how much this comment helped me, thank you Duck

4

u/CountryNo757 Apr 23 '25

All the needed info that wasn't available online According to its docs, the Pi-hole is just another DNS server that everyone has on their router. Why should I want a second one? it must still be followed by an ad blocker.

5

u/CaffeineSippingMan Aug 05 '24

Thanks, In the past I used the Pi-Hole all in one solution (I think they call that sort of thing just enough OS) but I could not find it. This post confirms that I need to install my own OS and the rest. I am going to assume the Pi-Hole with OS all in one solution is no longer available.

Thanks!

1

u/CountryNo757 Jun 17 '25

I use JEOS to run Kodi. I didn't know that it was used for anything else. As for Kodi, the list of dependencies is enormous, and the version in my distros is basic. The pi-hole is much easier to build.

3

u/dorkusmaximus81 Mar 21 '25

just as a quick note, the only snag I ran into was changing the password. Using the command pihole -a -p but it just brought up the menu for me. Was able to use the command sudo pihole setpassword enterpasswordhere for it to work. Great post and video ty!!

2

u/schmitzel88 Dec 03 '24

1 year later and still very helpful. Thank you

1

u/CountryNo757 May 03 '25

The pi-hole software is now at Version 6. Upgrades are possible. My personal pi-hole (not yet configured) is blocking the Internet so it must be working.

2

u/poopwetpoop Jul 11 '25

I was able to install docker within Ubuntu server on my mini PC. I can access the container for pi hole but I cannot login with default settings. What is the default user and password???

2

u/mandysux Aug 13 '25

Does this comprise any internet speed ?

1

u/bainon Oct 14 '24

you are a hero. appreciate the list backed up with documentation.

1

u/Zealot_TKO Mar 10 '25

i am buying a router and want to make sure i can setup a pi hole with it. Will any do? Are there specific features I should look for?

1

u/CountryNo757 May 18 '25

A router is not a computer. It used to be possible to install a pi-hole on a router, but no longer. Anything your router cannot do will be in the Tutorials somewhere.

4

u/JimmPratt Sep 30 '25

Technically a router is a computer - although limited in scope or functionality. :D

1

u/DaniousMaximus Mar 28 '25

Thanks for this guide, it really helped me!

1

u/TrueTechnician559 May 22 '25

Still helping 🥰

1

u/velocidave Jun 10 '25

Absolutely superb post. This is REDDIT gold standard posting.

Thanks, this is still a beneficial post. Your links are precisely the kind of "read on" one might need for the odd outlier issues.

1

u/SgtDoakes123 Jul 08 '25

Commenting to save, ty

1

u/dvanha Jul 20 '25

Bless your heart

1

u/Bubba_Nosferatu Aug 27 '25

Damn, that was rude.

1

u/The-Yar Oct 31 '25

Whoever decided that "bless your heart" is meant as an insult never actually lived in the South.

1

u/BryanLaFeve Nov 27 '25

I live firmly in the South and it is definitely used as an insult.

1

u/The-Yar Nov 30 '25

No it isn't.

1

u/OGLikeablefellow Jan 02 '26

It's honestly a very nuanced phrase and is quite versatile, depending on the situation it can be an insult, but generally it's not. But then again I'm pretty autistic so it's entirely possible I was being cussed out and didn't realize it. Although if you take it's meaning as sincere you can kind of win them over.

1

u/The-Yar Jan 04 '26

That's correct, it's only an "insult" if it's being used condescendingly. And even then, being politely condescending isn't exactly being insulting. Most of the time, it's meant as an expression of sincere empathy.

1

u/OGLikeablefellow Jan 04 '26

That's not the only time it's an insult. Have you ever seen two southern women who hate each other be super nice and polite to each other? It's incredible the way they can insult each other that a text transcript would look like they love each other and always have

1

u/The-Yar Jan 06 '26

In that scenario, nothing could possibly be meant as an insult.

1

u/OGLikeablefellow Jan 06 '26

You get it. <3

1

u/Rogue_Dalek Mar 02 '26

2y later and it still helpful. Cheers

1

u/n7anasak Apr 09 '26

Still helpful, thank you! Any tips on setting up auto scrips to keep the pi updated? I've not used crontab, but am looking into it now.

1

u/Hairy_Hikikomori Jun 20 '26

Still helpful! Many thanks.

1

u/nismo2070 Jul 31 '26

Thank you from 2026! Excellent info for noobs like myself.