Pihole Not Working Nearly as Effectively (over last few weeks)

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@Bucking_Horn Here is the output to ipconfig /all

>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : 
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : lan

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : lan
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek USB GbE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-E0-4C-6D-43-88
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : [redacted](Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : ***.***.2.218(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : November 4, 2022 10:14:08 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : November 5, 2022 10:14:11 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ***.***.2.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : ***.***.2.3
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 553705548
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-2A-CB-90-0B-64-6E-E0-3B-36-C0
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : ***.***.2.2
                                       ***.***.2.3
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

@yubiuser:

As it happens I have figured out the problem. There is a setting on newer android OS's that disables the DNS used by wifi connections. It's called "private DNS" and this is why it was bypassing the piholes. As soon as I disabled private DNS system wide on the phone, it started using the pi-hole.

I had run into this when searching a hunch online, and this is how it was figured out:

This behaviour also explains why using a VPN -- where a DNS would be enforced -- made the phone use the piholes.

Very frustrating that this was the fix. I'm glad though that in this flurry of activity I was able to update the adlists on my pihole. I should set a reminder to do this a bit more often.

Thank you all... I'll keep an eye on the pihole.log to make sure that the ads I want to be blocked are blocked on all devices connected to the network (I do not have immediate plans to whitelist any device)