Block Ads on Every Device Using Pi-hole and a Raspberry Pi 3B (Beginner-Friendly)

Introduction

Let me start with something important: not all ads are bad.

Many small blogs, hobby sites, and independent creators rely on ads to stay online. I personally think it’s important to support ethical content creators, especially when their sites are clean and respectful of your privacy.

But here’s the problem — a lot of what passes as advertising online isn’t just a banner ad or two. It’s aggressive, invasive, and tracks everything you do. Some ads even carry malware, especially on shady streaming sites or dodgy links kids might accidentally click.

That’s why I decided to install Pi-hole — not to block everything, but to stop the unethical rubbish: the auto-playing videos, the pop-ups, the hidden trackers, and the garbage that slows down devices and puts privacy at risk.

If, like me, you have a house full of children, setting up Pi-hole is a total game-changer. It gives you a bit more control, a safer online environment, and it works on every device — tablets, smart TVs, phones, consoles, and laptops — without having to install anything on each one.

Let’s walk through exactly how I did it using just a Raspberry Pi 3B and some free software.

What Is Pi-hole?

Pi-hole is a free, open-source tool that acts as a DNS filter. In plain English, it intercepts web requests and blocks any that try to load known ad servers, trackers, or malware domains.

Once it’s running on your Raspberry Pi, Pi-hole works like a filter for your entire network, stopping most ads and tracking attempts before they even reach your devices.

💡 Bonus: It’s also perfect for family homes — especially when kids are browsing or watching YouTube. It helps reduce exposure to questionable content, trackers, and dodgy pop-ups.

Studies show that Pi-hole can reduce web page load times by up to 50%, just by cutting out all the background junk ads usually load.

What You’ll Need

Here’s everything I used:

Item	Purpose
Raspberry Pi 3B	The main device running Pi-hole
MicroSD Card (8GB+)	Holds the operating system and software
5V Power Adapter	Powers the Raspberry Pi
Ethernet or Wi-Fi	Lets the Pi connect to your home network
Router Access	So you can change DNS settings later

Step 1: Get the Raspberry Pi Ready

If your Pi doesn’t already have Raspberry Pi OS (formerly called Raspbian), here’s how to get set up:

1. Download the Raspberry Pi Imager from the official website.

2. Insert your MicroSD card into your computer.

3. Use the Imager to write Raspberry Pi OS onto the card.

4. Insert the card into your Pi and power it on.

5. Connect your Pi to your home network (Ethernet is more reliable, but Wi-Fi works too).

Step 2: Update the Operating System

Once your Pi is up and running, open the terminal and type:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade -y

This installs the latest patches and updates, making sure everything is secure and stable.

Step 3: Install Pi-hole

Now for the main event: installing Pi-hole!

In the terminal, run:

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

Follow the on-screen steps. You’ll be asked to:

• Choose your network interface (eth0 for wired, wlan0 for Wi-Fi)

• Pick a DNS provider (I went with Cloudflare, but Google or Quad9 are fine)

• Set a static IP address — this is crucial so your devices can always find your Pi-hole

• Make a note of the admin URL and password — you’ll need this to log in later

Step 4: Configure Your Router

Now that Pi-hole is ready, it’s time to make sure your network actually uses it.

1. Log into your router (usually by visiting something like 192.168.1.1 in your browser)

2. Find the DNS settings in the admin panel

3. Replace the existing DNS servers with the IP address of your Raspberry Pi

4. Save the changes and reboot the router

From now on, every device connected to your home network will use Pi-hole for DNS — no need to install anything on phones, tablets, or game consoles.

Step 5: Test the Setup

Here’s how I made sure it was working:

1. Visited some ad-heavy websites — almost all the ads were gone

2. Opened the Pi-hole admin panel (http://your.pi.ip.address/admin)

3. Looked at the dashboard — I could actually see the ads and trackers being blocked in real-time

It felt great knowing the kids’ tablets were now a lot safer and faster to use.

Step 6: Customize and Tweak

Pi-hole works great out of the box, but you can fine-tune it:

• Add more blocklists for stricter filtering (I used Firebog.net)

• Whitelist sites that you trust or want to support

• Monitor device activity to see which gadgets are making the most requests (very useful if something’s misbehaving)

This is especially handy in a busy household — I could see when a game or app was sending excessive requests and deal with it.

Step 7: Keep It Running Smoothly

A few things I do regularly to keep things in shape:

• Run updates with:

pihole -up

• Refresh or rotate blocklists once a month

• Check the dashboard logs for any unusual activity or requests

Why I Love Pi-hole (Especially in a Family Home)

Here are the real benefits I noticed, especially with kids in the house:

Benefit	What It Means for Me and My Family
Faster browsing	Pages load faster without ad scripts
Less junk online	Fewer distractions and safer websites
Bandwidth savings	Ads eat a lot of data — this really helps
Central control	One setup covers everything
Safer for the kids	Blocks known malware and inappropriate trackers

Troubleshooting Tips

If you run into problems, here’s what helped me:

Problem	Fix
Still seeing ads	Double-check router DNS settings, and clear cache on devices
Devices can’t connect	Make sure the Pi has a static IP and DHCP is set up correctly
Sluggish performance	Restart the Pi and ensure it’s not overloaded

Final Thoughts

Setting up Pi-hole with my Raspberry Pi 3B was one of the most useful and satisfying DIY tech projects I’ve done. Not only did it improve our internet speed and reduce distractions, but it also made our home network safer — especially for the kids.

Remember, this isn’t about blocking all ads — just the nasty ones. I still support websites I care about, and I hope you do too.

If you’re running a busy household or just want more control over your browsing experience, I absolutely recommend giving Pi-hole a go.

Let me know how your setup goes — and happy ad blocking!