Device not showing up properly in Network Overview and Can't Configure Per-Client Blacklist

[simX]

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Expected Behaviour:

I've set up my device (an iPad) to connect to Wi-Fi, but with manual settings that specify the DNS server, which I've pointed to my Raspberry Pi. I've also assigned a static IP address since that's the only current way to configure clients right now (though it looks like MAC addressing is in the works, which is nice, thank you for that!).

When doing this, I expect my per-client blacklist that I've set up to work just on this device. I also expect my IP address to show up in the Network overview and show a number of queries other than 0.

Actual Behaviour:

Even when I've set up the manual settings on my iPad, it isn't using the per-client blacklist that I've set up for this device.

I'm 95% sure this is probably just a configuration error on my part, probably on the iPad, but as far as I know, every device uses the DNS settings on the device first, before resorting to any DNS settings on the router, so why isn't this device getting its DNS queries routed through Pi-hole on my Raspberry Pi? I've even restarted the iPad to make sure there isn't any DNS caching going on.

What's weird is that I do get an entry in the Network overview for my device with the correct IP and MAC address. It says reports a "First seen" date of just a few minutes ago (I flushed the network table from the Settings page), but the "Last Query" just always reports "Never".

I have also made sure that the "Interface listening behavior" is set to "Listen on all interfaces", though I'm not sure this is necessary since the Raspberry Pi isn't connected via Wi-Fi, only via Ethernet.

The only other relevant detail is my normal network topology: I have my Raspberry Pi connected via Ethernet to my DSL modem/router combo, which connects to the internet. I have a separate wireless router connected via Ethernet to my DSL modem/router combo, and most wireless devices like iPhones and iPads connect to the wireless router, which has the DNS entry set up for my Raspberry Pi (which has a static IP address).

So changing my iPad to have a static IP and to use the DNS of the Raspberry Pi directly is a bit of a change, but AFAIK there's nothing that should stop this configuration from working.

Debug Token:

https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/wllu177f38

Any ideas on what might be going on? Sorry if this veers more into network troubleshooting than Pi-hole troubleshooting, but I figured there's a small chance that this is actually related to the Pi-hole software.

[jfb]

@simX

I've also assigned a static IP address since that's the only current way to configure clients right now

I'm not following you here. The iPad gets it's IP from the DHCP server (which appears to be your router), and then communicates with Pi-hole from that IP. Why is the MAC address required?

@simX

it isn't using the per-client blacklist that I've set up for this device.

There is no per-client blacklist set up for any devices.

You have 11 groups defined (several of them appear to have been created when you typed in separate words for the group names). All the domains and adlists are assigned to group 0, the default group. No clients are assigned to any of the other groups, so by default they are part of the default group. And no domains or adlists are assigned to any of the groups other than the default.

https://docs.pi-hole.net/database/gravity/groups/

[simX]

I'm not following you here. The iPad gets it's IP from the DHCP server (which appears to be your router), and then communicates with Pi-hole from that IP. Why is the MAC address required?

Pi-hole only seems to be seeing DNS queries from two clients: my wireless router, and from the Raspberry Pi itself. At least that’s what’s showing up in the Network Overview.

Also, the DHCP server on my wireless router reuses IP addresses, so it’s possible that in the future the same IP address resolves to a different device.

I guess I was assuming that my devices were making DNS queries through my wireless router, not directly, so that could be a misunderstanding of DNS on my part. But the fact remains that Pi-hole seems to see any wireless clients as one device: the wireless router itself.

(FWIW, adblocking is working on the wireless devices, and I can reach the Pi-hole web interface.)

There is no per-client blacklist set up for any devices.

I may have inadvertently pasted the wrong log file here. Sorry about that.

I don’t have access to the Pi at the moment, but when I get back home I’ll upload a screenshot of the Network Overview page and upload new logs, so I can more accurately show what’s going on rather than explain poorly.

[jfb]

@simX

Pi-hole only seems to be seeing DNS queries from two clients: my wireless router, and from the Raspberry Pi itself

Why do I only see my router's IP address instead of individual devices in the Top Clients section and Query Log?

A nice feature of Pi-hole is that you can see which network devices are sending out the most DNS queries. For every device that is using Pi-hole as their DNS server, you can also see which DNS queries each one has made. [image] But depending on a few things, you may only see a single host in your Top Clients section, which is not as useful. [image] This isn't detrimental to the performance of your Pi-hole; it just provides you with less insight into what's happening on your network. So w…

[simX]

Ah, that must be the case here. Thanks for pointing me to an FAQ. facepalm I guess I'll shift to using Pi-hole as the DHCP server and see if that works.