Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker. This will block Ads to all devices connected to your home network without having the need to install ad blocker in each device. Pi-hole can run on multiple devices ranging from Pi Zero to servers. Try to select a device which you can run 24/7, If you are worried about power usage then Pi zero might be the best option. In this article we will see the steps to install Pi-hole in Pi Zero.

Step 01 : Get Pi Zero & Required Accessories

• You would need following for this install

  • Pi Zero W
  • 5V Power Supply
  • SD Card with Operating System
  • USB OTG Cable
  • Mini HDMI to HDMI Adapter
  • Raspberry Pi Zero Case (Optional)
  • Keyboard and Mouse (Optional, if you already have one)
  

• Instead of getting the individual items you could also get the kit with these accessories from CanaKit

Step 02 : Initial Setup

• Insert the SD card into the SD Card slot

• Connect the Pi Zero W to all accessories as shown below

  

• Device will boot up and will ask you to install an operating system. If you need more operating system choice then click on Wifi Networks and connect to your network

  

• Successful connection to WiFi will bring in additional operating system options as shown below, Select the OS you like and proceed with the installation. In this case I choose Raspbian Full

• Select Yes on the warning message

  

• Install will take few minutes to finish. You should see below message after the install finishes

• At this point the desktop will boot up. In the configuration do the following

  • Give an Hostname for your Pi Zero
  
  • Enable SSH
  

• Open Terminal session and install xrdp for RDP access

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install xrdp

Step 03 : Install Pi-hole

• ssh into Pi Zero using putty. User name is pi and password is what you selected during Raspberry Pi Desktop configuration

  

• Alternatively you can also RDP into Pi Zero and Install from the terminal. User name is pi and password is what you selected during Raspberry Pi Desktop configuration

  

• sudo into root using

  sudo su
  

• Install Pi-hole using below command. Refer https://pi-hole.net/ for any additional information

  curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash
  

• Installation will bring up UI with on screen instructions

  • Select Ok as applicable
  • Select your preferred DNS provider. I read good reviews about Quad9 so using it for now as DNS provider
  • Pi-hole needs a static IP, So select Yes to use current network settings as static address
  • Select On for web admin interface, web server and log queries
  • Remember to note down login URL, user name and password for web admin interface
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Step 04 : Configure your router

• Login into your routers admin console by navigating to http://192.168.1.1 in your browser. Here are some default user name and passwords for common router brands. If you have ever changed the password use the updated password to login

• Navigate to the DNS server in the settings of your router and update it with the static IP of your device with Pi-Hole. This path will vary based on your routers make and model, for netgear devices its Internet –> Domain Name Server (DNS) Address

• Save the changes, It may take a minute OR two for your router to apply the new settings

Step 05 : Validate Pi-hole

• Navigate to Pi-hole admin console at http://192.168.x.xxx/admin/. Replace the IP address with the static IP address from your installation.

• Admin console will show details in dashboard as shown below

  

Pi-hole has now been successfully installed in your network. Ads to any devices connected to your network will be automatically blocked by Pi-hole. Remember to block ads, a machine with Pi-hole should be always running.