Adafruit Pi Hole Ad Blocker with Pi Zero W User manual

Pi Hole Ad Blocker with Pi Zero W

Created by lady ada

Last updated on 2020-12-21 12:02:53 PM EST

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Guide Contents

Guide Contents Overview Project Parts Pi Zero W base parts Pi OLED Display Addition Other things you may need... Using a Pi 3 Instead of Pi Zero W Prepare the Pi Install Pi Hole Pre-Check Change Hostname Run Pi Hole Installer Configuration Test Admin Page Test Blocking Install PiOLED Install 2x20 Header Install CircuitPython Libraries Update stats.py program Test & Stats at Startup Install Mini PiTFT

Install 2x20 Header Python Setup Update the stats.py program Test & Stats at Startup

Overview

A long time ago we made a Pi into a WiFi gateway that also blocked ads but the Pi Hole project does a

way

better job!

This project will make your Pi Zero W act as a DNS ( Domain Name Server) The kind of device that tells you that adafruit.com is known as IP address 104.20.38.240.

Except Pi Hole DNS will do a special trick, when it is asked for the IP address of ads.adserver.com (for example) it will return nothing! So you will never even connect to the ad server and get the ad. Your connection will be faster, less data, and no intrusive ads. It works great on computers, tablets, phones, etc. Even if you cannot run an ad-blocker plugin on your phone or tablet, this will work and ad-blockerdetectors can't tell you're running it.

Unlike our WiFi gateway demo, you do not have to set up the Pi as your access point, you will only use it as a DNS ad blocker so it will not act as a bottleneck

We upgraded our Pi Zero Pi Hole with a little display, that makes setting up clients easy and also gives you some nifty stats!

Follow along with this guide to DIY your own

Project Parts

This project can be done with any Raspberry Pi, but for the most adorably compact version we're using a Pi Zero W - this has enough power to do what we want, and has built in WiFi too!

Pi Zero W base parts

Its easiest if you pick up a Pi Zero W budget pack as it contains most everything you need

Raspberry Pi Zero W Budget Pack - Includes Pi Zero W

Remember those cereal commercials that would always say, "part of a complete breakfast"? Well the Pi Zero's a lot like that bowl of cereal - while it's... Out of Stock

But you can also just DIY with the minimum requirements:

1 x Pi Zero W the type of low cost game-changing product Raspberry Pi's known for - the super light, super lean microcomputer we've come to know and low, but now with built-in WiFi.

1 x 4G or larger SD Card You will be burning this card with Raspbian Jessie Lite so its ok if its blank or pre-burned

1 x Adafruit Pi Zero Enclosure Adafruit's classic, sturdy plastic enclosure. Keeps your Pi Zero safe and sleek.

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1 x 5V 1A USB wall adapter This one is plenty good and you can use any Micro USB cable with it

1 x 5V 2.4A USB wall adapter Super powerful for any uses, and comes with a built in MicroUSB cable

Pi OLED Display Addition

If you want to add an OLED display (which is suggested!) you'll also need:

Adafruit PiOLED - 128x32 Monochrome OLED Add-on for Raspberry Pi

If you're looking for the most compact li'l display for a Raspberry Pi (most likely a $14.95 In Stock

If you are using a Pi Zero W you'll need to add 2x20 headers too

1 x 2x20 Male Header Solder this in to plug in Pi HATs, GPIO cables, etc as you would into a normal Pi. Requires soldering

or

1 x 2x20 No-Solder Hammer Headers If your soldering isn't quite up to scratch, or you just don't own a soldering iron yet, then these nifty

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hammer headers from Pimoroni might be just what you need.

Other things you may need...

You also need a way to burn that SD card!

USB MicroSD Card Reader/Writer - microSD / microSDHC / microSDXC

This is the cutest little microSD card reader/writer - but don't be fooled by its adorableness! It's wicked fast and supports up to 64 GB SDXC cards! Simply slide the card into... Out of Stock

Using a Pi 3 Instead of Pi Zero W

Instead of a Pi Zero W you can directly substitute in a Pi 3 which also has built in WiFi, you won't need the 2x20 header in that case

1 x Raspberry Pi 3 Raspberry Pi 3 with WiFi built in!

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Prepare the Pi

The Pi Zero W is a very minimal computer, so it requires a little work to get it up and running.

We have a guide on how to set up your Pi Zero W 'headless' which is how we recommend you get started. Check out the guide for how to do that!

https://adafru.it/yuC

Here's the quick-start for people with some experience:

1. Download the latest 'Lite' Raspbian (https://adafru.it/fQi) to your computer

2. Burn the Lite Raspbian to your micro SD card (https://adafru.it/dDL) using your computer

3. Re-plug the SD card into your computer (don't use your Pi yet!) and set up your wifi connection by

editing supplicant.conf (https://adafru.it/yuD)

4. Activate SSH support (https://adafru.it/yuD)

5. Plug the SD card into the Pi Zero W

6. If you have an HDMI monitor we recommend connecting it up via the mini HDMI adapter we provide in the budget pack - so you can see that it's booting OK

7. Plug in power to the Pi Zero W - you will see the green LED flicker a little. The Pi Zero will reboot while it sets up so wait a good 10 minutes

8. If you are running Windows on your computer, install Bonjour support so you can use .local names,

you'll need to reboot Windows after installation (https://adafru.it/lPE)

9. You can then ssh into raspberrypi.local (https://adafru.it/jvB)

https://adafru.it/yuC

Install Pi Hole

Use the following instructions to install Pi Hole:

https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/#one-step-automated-install (https://adafru.it/PqC)

Pre-Check

OK once you have set your Pi up and the WiFi is connecting to your home or office network, and your can

ssh into it, continue with these easy steps! If you cannot connect via ssh yet, go back and read some of

our guides until you are able to log into your Pi.

Change Hostname

I like to do this first so I dont get confused between all the different Pi's in the house

Edit the hostname with sudo nano /etc/hostname and put something else on that first line, like pi-hole

Also change it in the hosts file with sudo nano /etc/hosts to match the same name. It's probably the last line:

Reboot and when you ssh in again, use pi-hole.local

Now's also a good time to change the Pi's password with passwd

Run Pi Hole Installer

There's more information on how installation at https://pi-hole.net/ (https://adafru.it/yuE) - as of the writing of this guide, its easier to just run:

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

It will take quite a while to install, and may seem to 'hang' at points. Just let it do its thing for about 20 minutes!

Adafruit Pi Hole Ad Blocker with Pi Zero W User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual