Charles Esther
If you’re considering deploying Pi-hole like I did, don’t make the same mistakes I did.
Pi-hole is a powerful tool for network-wide ad blocking, but it can come with unexpected side effects.
Let me show you what to prepare for before setting it up.
Your Whole Network Can Go Down If Pi-hole Fails
When I first installed Pi-hole, I didn’t realise that a single point of failure could break my entire network.
To block ads effectively, Pi-hole must be your only DNS server.
I had configured my router with just one DNS entry—my Pi-hole instance.
So, whenever I rebooted the server or restarted Docker, my entire network lost DNS resolution.
This meant no websites would load.
The fix was simple in hindsight.
I now run two synced Pi-hole instances, using both primary and secondary DNS slots on my router.
If one goes down, the other keeps the network alive.
Pi-hole Can Break YouTube Watch History
One annoying issue I faced was losing my YouTube watch history.
Because Pi-hole blocks certain domains, it can interfere with platform features.
To fix this, I had to allow s.youtube.com and video-stats.l.google.com.
Other useful domains include www.googleapis.com, youtubei.googleapis.com, and oauthaccountmanager.googleapis.com for the iOS app.
Google Chrome Updates May Fail on Ubuntu
Another unexpected side effect was that Google Chrome wouldn’t update on Ubuntu.
The update process uses dl.google.com, which gets blocked by default.
Adding this domain to the allow list instantly resolved the issue.
Gmail May Not Work on iOS
If you use the Gmail app on iOS, be ready for disruptions.
Pi-hole can block googleapis.l.google.com, causing the app to fail.
Whitelisting this domain fixed Gmail functionality for me.
Sponsored Links in Google Search Can Disappear
I noticed that sponsored links at the top of Google search results were missing.
These often lead to useful services, so this became a problem.
Whitelisting www.googleadservices.com helped.
If that’s not enough, consider adding clients0.google.com to clients9.google.com.
Other useful domains include dartsearch.net, googletagmanager.com, googletagservices.com, and doubleclick.net.
Mobile Games May Stop Working
Some mobile games depend on ad servers to function.
When those servers are blocked, the games either crash or fail to load.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here.
You’ll need to check your Pi-hole logs to identify which domains are being blocked and whitelist them manually.
Your Smart Devices Make a Shocking Number of Requests
Perhaps the most eye-opening part of using Pi-hole was discovering just how many external requests my smart devices were making.
A piece of software I thought I had uninstalled was still running in the background, making multiple daily requests to remote servers.
Pi-hole exposed this hidden activity.
It also revealed that my smart plugs, bulbs, and other devices were frequently reaching out to servers abroad.
Some of these calls can be blocked without affecting performance, but others are necessary.
This experience made me consider switching to devices that operate entirely on local control.
Conclusion
Pi-hole is an excellent tool for improving privacy and eliminating ads, but it’s not without its quirks.
Understanding these seven pitfalls—and how to fix them—will save you hours of frustration.
Make sure you’re prepared, and your network will thank you.
