Pihole, Mac and Google Wifi

[jfb]

@yinka

If I point MacBook's primary dns to pi and secondary to 1.1.1.1, pornhub/redtube are accessible.

You have provided two DNS servers to the Mac, and it is free to use either one. Eliminate the 1.1.1.1 and the Mac will have no other DNS server than Pi-hole, and all the DNS traffic from that client will go to Pi-hole.

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 serv…

@yinka

I need that loophole for when my pi goes down

You shouldn't need this. Set up your Pi so it is reliable, and then it won't go down. Good power supply, good quality SD card, don't fiddle with it, etc.

Another option is to run a second instance of Pi-hole on a different device (VM, another Pi, etc.). Then assign as DNS servers both the Pi-holes, and if either fails, the other picks up the DNS load.