Newbie help requested - DNS config for when outside local network

[david-b13]

Hi - wonder if I can ask for some help.

I have pi-hole configured and running on my local network. My router won't allow DNS to be reconfigured so I have to add DNS server address to each client.... BUT - that seems to affect use of that client (e.g. laptop) when not on local network ... Local (pi-hole) DNS service not available on another network - so no DNS service...

Do I add what I had before (google) as a secondary (or 3rd or 4th) item on the DNS server list - or does that then by-pass pi-hole when on local network ??

Help would be much appreciated !??!

[jfb]

@david-b13

My router won't allow DNS to be reconfigured so I have to add DNS server address to each client

Perhaps using Pi-hole as your DHCP server will meet your needs:

How do I use Pi-hole's built in DHCP server (and why would I want to)?

Using Your Existing Router For Network-wide Ad Blocking You might not need to use Pi-hole's DHCP server: In many home environments, your router also functions as your DHCP server. In this case, you can often set Pi-hole to be the DNS server for your network clients in the router's DHCP (or LAN) settings page, which allows all of your network clients to block ads simply by connecting to the network. Setting it up this way is also what makes Pi-hole very powerful for network-wide ad blocking. …

@david-b13

Do I add what I had before (google) as a secondary (or 3rd or 4th) item on the DNS server list

No. There is no "primary" and "secondary." There is "a DNS server to use" and "another DNS server to use."

@david-b13

does that then by-pass pi-hole when on local network ??

It allows clients to bypass Pi-hole at any time.

Why should Pi-hole be my only DNS server?

Reduced Ad Blocking Capability The main reason you should Pi-hole as your only DNS server is that you will see increased performance in the blocking of ads. If you have two DNS servers (Pi-hole and something else), your network clients may not always query Pi-hole for name resolution. If a query happens to be answered from a non-Pi-hole DNS server, your block lists will not apply (since that DNS server doesn't know about them). All Queries Need To Go Through Pi-hole First Since other DNS se…