Devices are not going through Pi-hole when using built-in DHCP server

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1

The issue I am facing:
Hello! I'm new to networking and feeling a little lost. Some of my devices appear to be connecting to the Pi-hole while others are not, and I'm not able to access the internet at all on my iPhone or on the Pi itself.

My router, a Spectrum SAX1V1R, allows minimal changes to the DNS and DHCP settings. I have assigned my Pi-hole a static IP and have confirmed that this is its IP using ifconfig. My router does not allow any changes to DHCP (or even for these settings to be viewed) or the selection of a range of IPs to be assigned, so I'm trying to use the built-in DHCP server. The router's IP is 192.168.1.1 and the Pi's is 192.168.1.125. I have the "Range of IP addresses to hand out" in the Pi-hole settings configured to "From 192.168.1.2 To 192.168.1.251."

With just this setting, my Pi does not recognize any devices on my network at all. So, after some Googling, I tried a tip from Reddit and, in my Spectrum app (the only place Spectrum allows you to update router settings), I clicked into the "DNS Server" settings and set the Pi's IP address as the "Primary DNS Server" and 192.168.1.252 (which I think is not in use) as the "Secondary DNS Server." These are the only DNS that Spectrum makes available to users.

SO I am now seeing queries on my Pi-hole dashboard, which is very exciting! However, on my laptop, ads are not being blocked and the laptop's IP does not appear in the list of connected devices. My iPhone is not able to use the WiFi at all, and the Pi itself, when trying to access websites, gives an error of DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG.

Given my super limited ability to update the router settings, I'm not super sure where to go from here. With the DNS Server settings, I am not able to upload the debug log, as the Pi is having connectivity issues. So I've reverted the DNS Server settings in the Spectrum app to default, and the log is here: https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/VejqQMUG

Thank you for your time!!

Details about my system:
Pi-hole v5.17.2 installed on a Pi 4 Model B (currently operating over WiFi), router is Spectrum SAX1V1R.

What I have changed since installing Pi-hole:
Selected "DHCP server enabled" checkbox, attempted DNS Server settings in Spectrum app, set Pi's static IP to 192.168.1.125, checked "Enable IPv6 support (SLAAC + RA)" checkbox in Pi-hole settings

2

What happens if you disable DHCP on Pi-hole? If you're in a rogue DHCP scenario, that might let DHCP be handled by the router, which will hopefully send your updated DNS settings to your devices.

3

If I disable DHCP on the Pi-hole, no requests appear to go through it at all.

4

Try putting in a manual DNS setting on your laptop to be 192.168.1.125. Leave second DNS entry blank.

This app can give you more details about what your iPhone is doing, including the DNS servers being used.

5

Thank you for your response! The app requires me to enter two DNS settings in order to save the settings. Is there something I could put in the second spot?

6

See if will take 0.0.0.0

If not, you could try the invalid entry 192.168.1.252 you mentioned above.

No guarantees.

7

Gotcha! I tried it, and I'm getting the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG error on non-iPhone devices.

8

You may be exceeding my ability and in need of someone who can read the debug.

We could try, in a command prompt on the laptop, what does the command* ipconfig /all reveal for the DNS servers? Did you manually set DNS on those as well?

*Windows not sure if mac is similar

9

For MacOS it is:

scutil --dns

10

I did this and got 7 "resolvers," but I"m not sure what to do with this information. Is there a part of the guide for it?

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Now I know I'm out of my depth as I'm not Mac saavy.

Seven resolvers sounds like a lot, though. Would recommend posting the output here and see if a Mac person can help. Or try googling how to remove resolvers in MacOS and limit those to the Pi-hole server. I've also heard Mac support is top notch if it is available to you.

Best of luck.

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