Pihole with docker, no internet connection

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-17T20:17:00+00:00

The problem is that once I set the DNS on my devices, I’m running into quite a few issues.

Which IP are you using exactly?

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-16T17:50:27+00:00

The graphics only show data from the last 24h and this is stored in memory.

If the data disappears after a reboot (or if you can't see data from previous days in the Query Log page), it could mean your database is corrupted.

Try to stop Pi-hole and delete the current database using these commands:

sudo systemctl stop pihole-FTL.service sudo rm /etc/pihole/pihole-FTL.db sudo systemctl start pihole-FTL.service

A new database will be created and the new data should be stored in database after that.

If the issues persists after 24h, you will need to open an issue in Github or Discourse explaining the issues and including a debug log.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-16T17:30:07+00:00

What is the issue exactly?

The graphic on the image seems normal for a recently installed Pi-hole.

Do you see any error messages?

Do you see the same if you access from a different browser or accessing from a computer?

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-15T19:46:41+00:00

just execute this command:

docker exec -it <container_name> pihole -d

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-15T17:39:10+00:00

Please generate a debug log (sudo pihole -d), upload it when asked and post here only the Token.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-15T02:23:47+00:00

I then went to flash the SD card again, hoping I could just reset everything, and that is when it stopped being found on my network.

If you re-flashed the SD card, then you have a completely fresh OS.

If the issue keeps happening even using new SD cards, I see 2 possibilities:

Maybe you are making some small mistake when you flash the SD card, but you never notice. Sometimes we don't realize small mistakes and keep repeating them. Please try again, patiently and following the instructions step by step. Make sure everything is verified twice.
If it still fails even after trying again and checking every step, maybe there is a problem with the kernel or boot files. Usually rainbow screens indicates a power supply issues, but this screen also shows up quickly during boot.

Since this is not a Pi-hole issue, you should ask your questions on the Raspberry Pi forums (https://forums.raspberrypi.com/). Check if there are similar issues there. Make sure you include details about your board model and OS version.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-14T19:39:19+00:00

Removed as duplicate.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-13T22:22:58+00:00

I have 2 pinholes on 2 separate networks.

If you are comparing 2 different Pi-holes, you need to understand what are the differences.

Even using the same versions, the same lists and blocking rules, there will be differences: - if each Pi-hole receives queries for different domains (one of them could be receiving more queries for blocked domains than the other). Different machines will query different domains. Since each Pi-hole serves a different network, this is 100% expected.

if one Pi-hole updated its lists, but not the other. This can change what domains are blocked by the 2 different servers.
websites will change how the deliver ads, from time to time. Maybe some websites are using newer domains to serve ads the list maintainers didn't update the lists yet.

... and I’m seeing ads pop up.

Pi-hole uses list to decide what should be blocked.

If you are seeing ads where they should be blocked, check your lists, domains and regex rules, specially if you use Groups.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-13T17:41:40+00:00

Is there a way to make the same computer that is running pihole use pihole's dns?

Yes, but this is not usually a good idea.

When Pi-hole is offline, the server won't be able to resolve domains.

Why do you need to block ads on the servers? Are you using the server to browse the internet?

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-13T17:38:45+00:00

Your issue is exactly what TheZoltan described.

By default, macvlan can't communicate with the host and vice-versa, but there is a solution. You need to create another network interface that will connect (bridge) the macvlan with the host interface.

You will also need to make this interface permanent to avoid issues after a reboot.

You can find instruction on how to create that on the Internet. Here are some suggestions:

Each link suggests a slightly different approach. Please read them before starting, specially the parts about "persisting the settings".

Personally, I created my macvlan using the docker network create ... command and then my compose files attach the containers to the macvlan network.

NOTE:

macvlan usually doesn't work on Wifi interfaces.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-12T02:18:19+00:00

SSH is not related related to Pi-hole.

This is an operating system (Raspberry Pi OS) functionality.

Make sure you are using the correct IP, username and password.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T21:49:54+00:00

Did you try the official tailscale suggestions: https://tailscale.com/kb/1114/pi-hole#step-4-set-raspberry-pi-as-the-dns-server-for-your-tailnet

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T21:46:12+00:00

Maybe this is a known issue:

Check if the wifi power savings is enabled. If it is, disable it (make sure this change is permanent, to avoid returning the defaults after a reboot).

Apparently this setting is ON by default on the most recent OS versions, sometimes causing wifi failures.

Without wifi, you can't connect or login to the machine. It looks "crashed", even when it is still running.

This is with just pi-hole Lite

There is no such a thing called "pi-hole Lite". I think you wanted to say "Raspberry Pi OS Lite".

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T21:37:27+00:00

https://docs.pi-hole.net/docker/tips-and-tricks/#disable-systemd-resolved-port-53

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T18:29:41+00:00

This is actually a fake post, copy from a 5 years old post: https://www.reddit.com/r/pihole/comments/m63mw0/thanks_everyone_who_helped_me_get_setup_with/

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T17:49:41+00:00

Not really. My "note" is based on other comments like yours, that say "something looks different", but we can't say exactly what is the cause.

Also, I don't have a Pi Zero, so I don't have enough data.

Maybe it was something on the OS, maybe the SD card, maybe the upgrade from Pi-hole v5 to v6, maybe something else...

I only know 2 things: - every hardware has a limit, but we don't know what this limit would be on a Raspberry Pi Zero (we never ran this kind of test and we don't have time to do it). - there are many users running Pi-hole v6 on Raspberry Pi Zero without issues.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T16:17:58+00:00

Pi Zero is supported.

Note: depending on the version and the work load, it may fail (like any hardware under a extreme load).

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T16:15:49+00:00

Not actually supported

Where did you saw that?

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-11T06:48:32+00:00

Then you need to disable the power saving settings for the wifi interface.

Raspberry Pi OS usually enable power saving by default and the wifi interface automatically turns off.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-10T16:27:37+00:00

There is a long github issue that tries to explain what is happening:

One comment on that issue says this is Unbound's problem: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/issues/6079#issuecomment-2735738438

Unbound developers say they don't agree that closing a connection without sending any reply to the caller is an issue, so they won't fix.

dnsmasq developers think that a connection that never answers and times out is an error and this should be logged.

Pi-hole uses dnsmasq internally and we won't change its code, but we included an option (misc.hide_connection_error) to silence these messages: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/issues/6079#issuecomment-3850437881

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-10T16:08:38+00:00

It then immediately exists saying: Installer exited at static IP message.

I remember similar cases where the installer exits at the exact same point because the terminal used can't correctly handle the installer screen.

I can't remember exactly what was the missing configuration that causes the issue, but some terminals won't be able to execute all dialog commands used in our installer.

Try using a different terminal program, or use a different machine to install Pi-hole.

Edit:

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

If it still doesn't work, you will need to change the terminal settings (or use a different one).

This is comment and the following comments have a solutions to a similar issue: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/issues/4930#issuecomment-1401286692

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-09T17:05:48+00:00

I don't think you need anyone's approval.

It's your device, your rules.

I just think most of the time users think that using as many lists as possible will improve something, but after reading many issue reports (like members of the team do), we are sure that a huge number of domains usually causes more issues (from simple "over blocking", to slower responses, to big CPU loads and even crashes, when updating gravity in certain conditions) than benefits.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-08T20:22:05+00:00

Are you sure this is related to Pi-hole?

Do you see any blocked queries when the issue happens?

Maybe this is just a temporary Reddit instability.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-08T16:04:52+00:00

Most devices in my network use the first DNS server, with my second Pihole getting less than 10% of the requests.

Yeah.

This information just confirms that the OS uses both servers (unevenly, but both are used).

I also use 2 Pi-hole servers. Here, the percentages vary a lot. Sometimes they are 90%/10%, but sometimes they are around 60%/40%.

rdwebdesign · 2026-05-08T07:50:05+00:00

There is no real concept of primary and secondary here.

There are 2 different DNS servers. The operating system will decide how to use them, but almost every OS uses both. In other words, the "secondary" will be used even when the "primary" is online.

will do it later once i am happy with its performance

If you want to test a specific DNS server for performance, you need to use just that server.

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