topic Pi-Hole Query in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 12:47:54 GMT

Being bored and looking for a little project I have bought a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and installed Pi-hole on it. This is working fine and has also enabled me to eliminate the irritating adverts from organisations that I will never use that clog the top of web searches.

Looking at the Pi-hole stats I have found a couple of mysterious new wireless connections, neither appear in the list of devices in the Hub 2 Advanced/My Network list of devices. I have the Pi-hole DHCP server switched off.

One of these mysterious connections seems to be a list of every DNS lookup. Is this a 'feature' of the Pi-hole or is there a back door link of which I am unaware reporting my every move?

As an aside, I note the documentation states that I need a 2.5A PSU for the Pi Zero, measured current when running this software is 0.12A - hence I have found a use for the Hub 2 USB connector:

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bobpullen — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 12:55:34 GMT

Where exactly are you seeing these 'connections' and how do you know they are wireless?

I'm familiar with Pi-hole but am struggling to visualise what it is you're referring to.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 13:15:48 GMT

@bobpullen

Ah. perhaps they are not wireless, my assumption, as I know that they are not wired.

When I go to the Pi-hole Dashboard they appear as local IP addresses under 'Top Clients (Total)' with an IP address that does not appear in the list of Hub 2 devices, either active or disconnected. Opening the address gives me, for example:

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bobpullen — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 14:37:48 GMT

Few of those lookups are to a DNS over HTTPS server.

Can you see the IP under Tools > Network, and if so, does the corresponding hardware address offer any clues?

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:29:51 GMT

Thanks Bob,

Tools/Network showed me the answer. It was a bit of finger trouble plus being fooled by my IPhone having different MAC addresses for the wireless bands.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 14:37:23 GMT

@Baldrick1

I hate it when people put ideas in my head.

Do you connect the Pi to the router via ethernet cable?

Is the power source from the Hub2 to the Pi a standard USB cable?

I guess I'd need to buy

Rasperry Pi Zero 2w

Pi Case

SD card

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

dvorak — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:01:22 GMT

You don't need to buy a Pi, you can run it under Docker on windows or other OS as an experiment

Or even install it directly on Windows https://github.com/DesktopECHO/Pi-Hole-for-WSL1/

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:29:27 GMT

If you go the Raspberry Pi route:

The W in Pi Zero 2W means it is wireless, so no Ethernet cable required

You need a USB A to micro USB cable for the power.

You need a case.

To program the Pi you need:

A means of downloading an operating system on to a micro SD card, I have a USB adapter. I used the simple RaspOS version of Debian.

You then need to download and install the Pi-hole software, to first turn the Pi into a working computer you need:

A mini HDMI to HDMI cable to connect to a monitor.

A micro USB to means of connecting to keyboard and mouse. I used a micro USB to USB A cable plus a female to female connector into which I could plug my PC Bluetooth usb gizmo.

There may well be easier ways to do it but I wanted to try something different, this was a little project into unknown territory to keep my brain ticking over.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:42:02 GMT

It is worth noting the current Raspberry PI imager allows for the enabling of ssh and the setting of the wireless name/password. So the HDMI and USB cables are not really needed, just one for the power, use a terminal app such as PuTTy for ssh.

You can find the pi IP Address via your DHCP allocated IP Address list of you router, in the case of the Hub Two >Home >My Device

HTH

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:05:38 GMT

@dvorak

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I still run Win7 so it appears to rule that out. Also, I occasionally shut down the machine to boot a NUC box with Linux Mint.

@Baldrick1

I already have a multi card reader so programming the SD card wouldn't be a problem.

I think I would need a USB power cable on top of what I previously listed (unless I find one lying around) so around £35 seems to cover everything. Looks like I'll be spending some money soon.

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:28:05 GMT

@Baldrick1

The game has begun. £32.97 has got a Raspberry Pi, Case, USB micro lead and an SD card on order.

I know I need to set an Static IP address in Pi-Hole, some where outwith the Hub2's normal range. So it'll be 192.168.1.? but I'm not certain of what the normal range is. Any ideas?

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:42:12 GMT

@bmc

It’s 2-63 I think. I just left it on DHCP and reserved the allocated IP address by selecting ‘always use this IP address’ in the advanced hub 2 network settings.

I have been struggling with getting a domain that I added to always block. I’m hoping that I have found the problem as being the DNS being cached in the browser prior to adding the pi hole.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:20:27 GMT

@Baldrick1

Thanks - I'll report back next week on how things go.

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:29:24 GMT

Well, stage one completed (I think).

The SD card showed up today and following the instructions in the link below I've now got Raspebrry Pi OS installed with SSH and my network details.

https://www.wundertech.net/how-to-setup-a-raspberry-pi-zero-without-a-monitor-keyboard-or-mouse/

I'll only find out if it worked when the Pi shows up and I try to connect wirelessly.

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

bmc — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 12:36:53 GMT

Stage two completed (eventually)!!!

I manually added the required "ssh" and wireless settings to the SD card but for some odd reason between the card reader and the Pi itself they got lost so no connection (two attempts).

So I re-installed the O/S (again) and used the imager settings to add in all the details I required. I now have a Raspberry Pi recognised by the router.

Just the Pi-Hole install using Putty to do.

Brian

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Raxiel — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:17:14 GMT

I'm currently in the process of trying to set up my own pi-hole on a Pi Zero 2w. Bit of a pain to get it going because the case the vendor recommended doesn't let the mini HDMI cable they sell seat enough to work, so I had to take it back out until it was on Wi-Fi with SSH turned on.

Anyway, now I'm struggling with assigning the fixed IP. I wanted to give it 192.168.1.32, and I found the relevant bit of the Hub's web interface, but no matter how many times I change either the 'Always use this IP address:' slider or type in my preferred address, it doesn't stick. As soon as I exit to 'my devices' and find the pi in the list again, it's back to "Always use this IP address: No"

I've tried saving after each step, I've tried rebooting the router and/or the pi, I've tried changing the router config while the Pi is disconnected. I'd even accept the random IP the Hub gave it via DHCP the first time, but while that's been consistent (at least until the lease ends), it still says it's not fixed every time I re-enter.

Any Idea where I'm going wrong?

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 20:18:17 GMT

@Raxiel

There’s two ways of doing this.

1. You set a fixed IP address in the pi, not the router. If you set it to 192.168.1.32 then the hub will connect to this address automatically. You do not reserve the address in the hub.

2. If instead you use the default settings when installing the operating system then the router will assign an IP address. You can reserve so effectively fix this address by using the always use this IP address field in the router settings.

I used the second option. Having done this, to always use pi-hole filtering you enter this as both the primary and secondary DNS addresses in the hub settings.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Raxiel — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 21:08:51 GMT

Thanks, so can option1 only be done during installation, or can I set it afterwards?

I've tried doing option 2, but my issue is that the "always use this IP address" toggle always seems to reset to off as soon as I leave that screen. It might actually be fixed on the DHCP address, and the UI resetting to 'no' is just a visual bug, but other than 'wait and see' there doesn't appear to be any way to confirm

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Baldrick1 — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 22:20:54 GMT

@Raxiel

Are you aware that you need to log in to the hub and reserve the address on the Advanced Settings / My Network page? It sounds like you are on the Home / My Devices page.

Re: Pi-Hole Query

Dan_the_Van — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 07:17:55 GMT

@Raxiel

The Hub two can be a bit difficult proving a fixed IP, If you prefer a static IP Address, let it boot up and receive a IP from the Hub.

Then make the following changes to /etc/dhcpcd.conf

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Add the following to the end of the file, (this assumes the Hub's IP Address is the default 192.168.1.254).

interface wlan0
static ip_address=192.168.1.32/24
static routers=192.168.1.254
static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.254

Save the file using CTRL + X and reboot.

HTH