Setup: Pi-Hole and Quad9

Introduction

Pi-Hole is a popular DNS forwarder, often used primarily for blocking domains specifically associated with ads and tracking.

Pi-Hole Setup

For detailed setup instructions of Pi-Hole itself, please see the Official Pi-Hole Documentation.

Quad9 Setup

Once you have installed Pi-Hole and can access the administration panel, Quad9 is already one of the default options.

1. In the Admin panel, navigate to Settings -> DNS
2. Check both IPv4 boxes next to Quad9 (filtered, DNSSEC)
3. If your network/computer support IPv6, it's also recommended to check both IPv6 boxes. If you're not sure if IPv6 is configured on your network, you can test that here: https://test-ipv6.com/
4. Check the options Never forward non-FQDNs and Never forward reverse lookups for private IP ranges to prevent sending unanswerable DNS queries to Quad9.
5. Click "Save" at the bottom.

Confirmation

Once Quad9 has been configured in Pi-Hole, you can configure your router or a single computer to use the Pi-Hole's IP address as a DNS server. If the Query Log is enabled (Settings -> Privacy [tab]), you should see Quad9 recorded in the Status column:

You can also confirm if Quad9 is being used manually on Linux, MacOS, or Windows.

Blocked Domains

Domains which are blocked by Quad9 will record Blocked (external, NXRA) in the Status column of the Query Log: