Pi-hole Installation on Windows

Pi-hole offers Network-wide Ad Blocking, allowing not just standard ad-blocking, but also connecting to your router so every device on your network benefits from ad-blocking. This includes devices that aren't traditionally easy to set ad-blockers on like mobile devices, smart TVs, etc.

Prerequisites

• Docker: Download Docker

Installation Steps

1. Install Docker: After downloading, install Docker on your system.

2. Open Docker: Once Docker is up and running, select the WSL 2 backend. This should be the default option.

3. Download Pi-hole: Open a command prompt as an administrator (or use PowerShell if command prompt doesn't work) and run the following command:

   docker pull pihole/pihole
   

4. Assign a Static IP to Your PC:

   a. Open system settings, then navigate to "Network and Internet".

   b. Note the network under status; this is likely the name of your Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.

   c. Proceed to "Network and Sharing Center" > "Change Adapter Settings".

   d. Right-click on your active network and select "Properties", then choose "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)".

   e. Open a command prompt and run ipconfig to view your current network details.

5. Setup Static IP: In the "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" settings, choose "Use the following IP address" and input the details from ipconfig. Set the DNS server to the IP address you noted, and for the alternative DNS, use 1.1.1.1.

6. Run Pi-hole using Docker:

   docker run -d --name pihole -e ServerIP=YOUR_IP_ADDRESS -e WEBPASSWORD=YOUR_CHOSEN_PASSWORD -e TZ=YOUR_TIMEZONE -e DNS1=127.17.0.1 -e DNS2=1.1.1.1 -e DNS3=1.0.0.1 -p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 --restart=unless-stopped pihole/pihole:latest
   

   Make sure to replace:

   • YOUR_IP_ADDRESS with your actual IP address.
   • YOUR_CHOSEN_PASSWORD with a password of your choosing.
   • YOUR_TIMEZONE with your respective timezone (optional but recommended).

   Note: For DNS settings, DNS1 must remain as 127.17.0.1.

7. Verify Installation: Go to http://127.17.0.1/admin/ or http://localhost/admin/. If prompted for a password, enter the one you set during the docker run command.

8. Router Configuration: To extend Pi-hole benefits to your entire network, set the DNS server on your router to the IP address you noted from the ipconfig command.

Post-Installation Notes

• If you restart your computer and face internet issues:

  1. Repeat step 5, setting the DNS to 1.1.1.1.
  2. Open a command prompt as admin and run:

     ipconfig /flushdns
     ipconfig /registerdns
     

  3. Ensure Docker is running. Once it's up, revert to the original IP and DNS settings you set initially. If issues persist, try restarting your PC.

• Troubles with Docker commands? Instead of copying and pasting, try typing them out. Sometimes, PowerShell may have issues with formatting.

• If you encounter an error stating "docker desktop WSL kernel version too low":

  wsl --update
  

  And if the issue persists:

  wsl --install
  wsl --update
  

Happy ad-free browsing!