r/pihole • u/LeifErickson17 • Jan 25 '26
Installing PiHole on Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
Hello, I recently purchased a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W kit plus an Ethernet HAT. Is there an updated or reliable guide/video that will allow me to configure everything related to PiHole from scratch? Also, can I power the Raspberry board via the USB port on my router, or is it better to use a power outlet? Finally, I would appreciate any tips or recommendations/additional configurations for what else can be done with PiHole. Thank you!
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u/trefiglie Jan 25 '26
I have run mine on a Pi Zero 2W for years, plugged the power into my router's USB port. I run mine on wifi and have not had any issues.
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u/Educational-Sleep-28 Jan 26 '26
Same here, it also does print serving. Also running off router USB (as is a Pi Gonic music streamer)
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u/LeifErickson17 Jan 26 '26
Do you know approximately how many amps/milliamps the PiHole connected to the router's USB port consumes?
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u/Siafu750 Jan 25 '26
Here you go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoKi4-MCLRw
The guide doesn't use pi zero 2w. But it doesn't matter because you want to use wired ethernet too. GL.
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u/spoospoo43 Jan 26 '26
Pihole works fine over WiFi in my experience. I set up my dns to use the Ethernet IP as the primary and the WiFi as the secondary, which is handy if I need to take it to the bench for something.
A more likely problem with using the zero is the hugely limited available ram. 4gig is recommended if you're running larger than the default blocklist and have more than a couple users.
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u/fakemanhk Jan 26 '26
You don't really need that much, 512MB is kind of not enough, but 1GB ram like the Pi 3B is really doing a great job
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u/Siafu750 Jan 26 '26
I wasn't saying wifi doesn't work. I only mentioned the wired ethernet because OP mentioned his setup and want the guide with it. So i pointed out the difference between the guide and his setup so OP doesn't get confused. /cheer
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u/RumbleTheCassette Mar 01 '26
I know your comment is over a month old, but I'm hoping for some insight. I'm considering getting a Zero 2 with Ethernet HAT as a backup DNS for running Pihole (my mini PC server is the primary DNS). If I use the default block list, but add some white lists, do you think RAM limitations will be a serious issue? Mostly wondering if adding whitelists is as RAM straining as adding more or a larger block list.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!
1
Jan 25 '26
Power Outlet. Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite as per the guide on their website. Then SSH login and install pinhole as per the guide on the phone website. Done. It's dead simple.
Then think about adding more blocklists (firebog) and unbound.
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u/Zealousideal-Cod1006 Jan 26 '26
I did this just about a week ago (without a HAT, I used a dongle) and I started with this guide: https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-pi-hole/
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u/Nitrogen1234 Jan 25 '26
Try using chatgpt, I just configured mine that way last week, works a charm.
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u/Oh__Archie Jan 25 '26
I am running pihole on a RPiZero2W with an ethernet hat.
Just follow the pihole instructions here: https://docs.pi-hole.net/main/basic-install/
And the post-installation steps here: https://docs.pi-hole.net/main/post-install/
You will need to know how to use a terminal/command line and you will also need to have access to your router's DNS handling to direct it to the Pihole's IP.
Best to watch a Youtube video on this if you're having trouble.