# Can't get my devices to resolve through pihole

**URL:** <https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [July 13, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237 "2021-07-13T14:00:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 18\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/1 "2021-07-13T14:00:41Z")

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## Expected Behaviour:

devices use pihole for DNS

## Actual Behaviour:

no requests reported by pihole from anything but localhost

## Debug Token:

[https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/t0dpewm5b6](https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/t0dpewm5b6)

Hello,  
I spent a bit of time trying to get my computers and devices to see the pi-hole I set up for testing purposes, and any DNS resolution they required failed out, after pointing them to the pi. The pi-hole's logs don't show requests coming in from any network devices; all devices are on the same subnet, port 53 isn't blocked, firewall on the pi itself isn't running, etc. The admin page is accessible via IP, but never at pi.hole.  
What am I missing? Does FTL require more setup?

further information: I have a DHCP server already, so am not using the pihole for DHCP, just DNS.  
pihole -g shows 81745 unique domains in gravity, all checks green.  
Thanks in advance

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jfb](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/jfb/32/4332_2.png) [@jfb](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/jfb)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/2 "2021-07-13T14:43:13Z")

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From a client that you believe should be connected to the Pi-Hole for DNS, from the command prompt or terminal on that client (and not via ssh or Putty to the Pi), what is the output of

`nslookup pi.hole`

`nslookup pi.hole 192.168.1.216`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/3 "2021-07-13T14:47:49Z")

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nslookup 192.168.1.216:  
connection timed out; no servers could be reached  
same for pi.hole.

dig @192.168.1.216 times out as well:  
; \<\<\>\> DiG 9.16.1-Ubuntu \<\<\>\> @192.168.1.216  
; (1 server found)  
;; global options: +cmd  
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jfb](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/jfb/32/4332_2.png) [@jfb](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/jfb)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/4 "2021-07-13T18:01:08Z")

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Please run the commands exactly as I posted and post the complete outputs.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/5 "2021-07-13T18:49:14Z")

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$ nslookup pi.hole  
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached

$ nslookup pi.hole 192.168.1.216  
;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yubiuser](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/yubiuser/32/12100_2.png) [@yubiuser](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/yubiuser)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/6 "2021-07-13T19:13:38Z")

</div>

Your Pi is not reachable in your network.  
Can you `ping 192.168.1.216`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/7 "2021-07-13T19:25:42Z")

</div>

It's reachable, I'm SSHed in on a box that isn't using it for name resolution. it's headless, I just SSH into it.

Once I switch a device's DNS to it, _edit_ it is still pingable with no packet loss from that device, but there's no name resolution.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/8 "2021-07-13T19:31:23Z")

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output:  
PING 192.168.1.216 (192.168.1.216): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=0 ttl=64 time=4.942 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=1 ttl=64 time=6.216 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=2 ttl=64 time=4.559 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=3 ttl=64 time=2.815 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=4 ttl=64 time=4.783 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=5 ttl=64 time=2.247 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=6 ttl=64 time=4.773 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=7 ttl=64 time=6.381 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=8 ttl=64 time=4.907 ms

64 bytes from 192.168.1.216: icmp\_seq=9 ttl=64 time=5.554 ms

^C

--- 192.168.1.216 ping statistics ---

10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0.0% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 2.247/4.718/6.381/1.247 ms

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/bucking_horn/32/18719_2.png) [@Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/Bucking_Horn)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/9 "2021-07-13T19:43:46Z")

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> [@vkevlar](#):
>
> $ nslookup pi.hole 192.168.1.216  
> ;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached

That _`nslookup`_ was sent directly to Pi-hole's IPv4 address.  
Did that _`nslookup`_ register in your Pi-hole's debug log?

If it didn't, the DNS request never reached Pi-hole.

In that case, you should reverify whether you've configured your Pi-hole host machine's firewall to block port 53.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/10 "2021-07-13T19:48:00Z")

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I can confirm it didn't appear in the log. As far as I know, firewall is disabled, I will recheck.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/11 "2021-07-13T20:01:14Z")

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No firewall running, this box is behind my normal firewalls, so I hadn't set one up yet.

The interface in question has two inet6 addresses, which surprises me. My internal network is just running inet though, so I'd been ignoring it:  
3: wlan0: \<BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER\_UP\> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo\_fast state UP group default qlen 1000  
link/ether b8:27:eb:f6:0a:d7 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff  
inet 192.168.1.216/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global wlan0  
valid\_lft forever preferred\_lft forever  
inet6 fd16:3b9b:e002:1:35b1:ed04:e798:a3af/64 scope global mngtmpaddr noprefixroute dynamic  
valid\_lft 1777sec preferred\_lft 1777sec  
inet6 fe80::a790:927:dac2:6d4e/64 scope link  
valid\_lft forever preferred\_lft forever

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/bucking_horn/32/18719_2.png) [@Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/Bucking_Horn)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/12 "2021-07-13T20:38:12Z")

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_It's not unusual for a device to have a multitude of IPv6 addresses.  
Besides, IPv6 isn't involved (yet), as that `nslookup` was directed specifically at Pi-hole's IPv4 address._

> [@vkevlar](#):
>
> No firewall running, this box is behind my normal firewalls, so I hadn't set one up yet.

This leaves two other possible explanations:  
a) another process on your Pi-hole machine snitches port 53 from Pi-hole  
However, according to your debug log, this doesn't seem to be the case.  
b) another networking device -your router or a dedicated firewall machine- blocks access to port 53 to your local Pi-hole.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/13 "2021-07-13T20:44:05Z")

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Hm. that's what I was afraid of. I don't see firewall rules about port 53 on anything so far, or about that IP address. I didn't deliberately set it up, so now I'm working on the assumption it's something default-denied that I have to allow. I'm on an ASUS wireless router operating in AP mode, connected wired to my main router; the first device I tried this from was wireless-only (my phone), so I'm suspicious of the wireless router. Haven't found anything yet, unfortunately.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/14 "2021-07-13T20:53:02Z")

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From what I can see, it's just pihole on :53:

```auto
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep ":53"
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:53 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 17733/pihole-FTL
tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:5335 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 1499/unbound
tcp6 0 0 :::53 :::* LISTEN 17733/pihole-FTL
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:53 0.0.0.0:* 17733/pihole-FTL
udp 0 0 127.0.0.1:5335 0.0.0.0:* 1499/unbound
udp 0 0 0.0.0.0:5353 0.0.0.0:* 294/avahi-daemon: r
udp6 0 0 :::53 :::* 17733/pihole-FTL
udp6 0 0 :::5353 :::* 294/avahi-daemon: r

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/bucking_horn/32/18719_2.png) [@Bucking\_Horn](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/Bucking_Horn)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 7:27am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/15 "2021-07-14T07:27:23Z")

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That confirms your debug log output's "`Ports in use`" section and my earlier remark:

> [@Bucking\_Horn](#):
>
> a) another process on your Pi-hole machine snitches port 53 from Pi-hole  
> However, according to your debug log, this doesn't seem to be the case.

So Pi-hole is the only process listening on port 53 on your machine, leaving other network devices as a probable cause.

Note that some ASUS routers are reported to always distribute their own IP address as DNS server via DHCP alongside any DNS servers you've configured through your router's DHCP settings.

While that would allow clients to by-pass Pi-hole via your router's IP, I'd expect your _`nslookup`_ to return NXDOMAIN rather than timing out in that case.  
That is to say that I'm not sure how that would contribute to explain your observation.  
It probably could if your AP mode router would close a DNS loop with your main router (where your two routers keep forwarding DNS requests among themselves until time-out) - but that is a fair amount of speculation on my behalf.

You should consider consulting your router's documentation channels for information how it would handle DNS in AP mode, and if and how you can configure DNS in that mode.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Coro](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/coro/32/15424_2.png) [@Coro](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/Coro)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 11:39am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/16 "2021-07-14T11:39:59Z")

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> [@Bucking\_Horn](#):
>
> leaving other network devices as a probable cause.

Besides from said ASUS routers, I have seen reports in the past about Google Nest (and some other routers also from Google (my memory may be incorrect here...)) actively intercepting any port 53 traffic. Said user was never able to get it running but then they connected the devices behind a cheap simple network switch and everything started to work instantaneously. They replaced the Google router which was the only sensible thing because it was doing something your don't want as user.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![vkevlar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/v/d9b06d/32.png) [@vkevlar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/vkevlar)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/17 "2021-07-14T13:21:56Z")

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hm. I have an entirely too heterogeneous network layout. It's also apparently possible that my cable modem is blocking 53, though how that would affect my internal network I'm unclear on.

Thanks for the help, I'm going to try moving it to physical ports around the place and see if I can isolate which device is the problem.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/uploads/default/original/3X/7/c/7c8792f649eeb921c5d2b4c41564ffa873d9a2b8.png) [@system](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2021, 1:22pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/cant-get-my-devices-to-resolve-through-pihole/48237/18 "2021-08-04T13:22:31Z")

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