# Unable to connect to Pihole admin 

**URL:** <https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [September 21, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671 "2026-09-21T01:14:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/1 "2026-09-21T01:14:54Z")

</div>

#### Please follow the below template, it will help us to help you!

## Expected Behaviour:

As far as I know I have a normal pi 4 running Pihole on the pihole-kit from the pihut, and it all worked fine till 20 mins ago when I let it update

## Actual Behaviour:

I now can't access the admin page. It won't connect through the numbers it's used before, or Pihole/admin, just says:

**Unable to connect** / Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 192.168.0.54 (/42 / 1)

My pc has internet with Lan cable but it keeps cutting out, and I have no wifi

Ai overview said to turn off lighttpd and then ---config we server.port '80o,443so' but neither of them did anything?

I am not techy and have no real idea what I'm doing or where to look to fix this

## Debug Token:

[Https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/BUgV3UYy/](Https://tricorder.pi-hole.net/BUgV3UYy/)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rdwebdesign](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/rdwebdesign/32/51363_2.png) [@rdwebdesign](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/rdwebdesign)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/2 "2026-09-21T01:47:34Z")

</div>

> [@ALDuck](#):
>
> **Unable to connect** / Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at 192.168.0.54 (/42 / 1)

Your debug log shows Pi-hole IP is `192.168.0.2`, not `192.168.0.54`. Try [http://192.168.0.2/admin](http://192.168.0.2/admin).

This IP was defined by the router DHCP server.

You also enabled Pi-hole DHCP server. Is this intentional?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 8:56am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/3 "2026-09-21T08:56:22Z")

</div>

I tried 192.168.0.2/admin and it's come up with

> **Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead**  
> Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to 192.168.0.2

Which is new.

The .54 was what it was connected to and working perfectly fine on until 20 minutes before I posted.

And I'm not sure? I remember I had some trouble setting everything up when I got it at the start of September 2025, because my router (Virgin Media Hub 3.0) didn't have some of the settings the guide said it should, so I pieced things together from a few different guides till it worked.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nite\_route](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nite_route/32/56186_2.png) [@nite\_route](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nite_route)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 10:18am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/4 "2026-09-21T10:18:53Z")

</div>

that firefox warning on 192.168.0.2 is normal once you hit the https admin after the ip changed. pi-hole is using its own cert, so firefox yells.

click Advanced, then Accept the Risk and Continue (wording varies). or force [http://192.168.0.2/admin](http://192.168.0.2/admin) for a quick check.

.54 dying after the update usually means the pi grabbed a new dhcp lease (.2). set a dhcp reservation for the pi on .2 (or whatever you want) in the virgin hub, and pick one dhcp server. running both the hub dhcp and pi-hole dhcp at once is a common way the admin ip keeps moving.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/5 "2026-09-21T11:53:07Z")

</div>

Pushing through firefox got the admin page back, thank you!!

But when I turned off the DHCP in my router the internet died and I lost the admin page again. So I'm guessing I've set something up wrong somewhere??

Pi says the router is .1, and it's giving out everything from .3 -\> .254 to everything else

And the router has .2 reserved for the pi's MAC, but also "starting local address" is .2

What do I turn off to still have everything go through the pihole before it gets to me?

And my wifi isn't back yet. Is there something I need to change to fix that?

I really appreciate your help and your patience, I haven't done anything with this since I set it up last year so whatever I learned about all this back then has faded

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nite\_route](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nite_route/32/56186_2.png) [@nite\_route](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nite_route)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/6 "2026-09-21T12:12:15Z")

</div>

yeah if you kill hub dhcp before pi-hole dhcp is actually serving leases, every client goes dark. thats what you hit.

for virgin hub 3 + pi-hole the usual working setup is:

1. leave hub dhcp ON for a minute
2. in pi-hole Settings, DHCP, enable the dhcp server, range .3-.254 is fine, router/gateway = 192.168.0.1
3. keep the .2 reservation for the pi mac
4. THEN disable dhcp on the hub
5. reboot phones/pcs (or renew lease) so they grab a lease from the pi

also point hub dns at 192.168.0.2 if the hub has a dns field, or just let clients take dns from the pi via dhcp. do not leave both dhcp servers fighting.

if wifi is still dead after that, turn hub dhcp back on temporarily so you can reach the admin again, then redo the order above. the hub "starting local address .2" while .2 is reserved for the pi is messy. once the pi owns dhcp, hub dhcp should stay off.

if you paste a screenshot of pi-hole dhcp settings (range + gateway) we can sanity check it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/7 "2026-09-21T12:33:36Z")

</div>

I double checked everything was like you said, turned off hub DHCP and restarted my pc and now it can't find the router at all. Windows network diagnostics says

> Ethernet 4 doesn't have a valid IP configuration

Guessing I need to factory reset the hub and start from scratch?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nero355](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nero355/32/54774_2.png) [@nero355](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nero355)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/8 "2026-09-21T14:14:43Z")

</div>

> [@ALDuck](#):
>
> So I'm guessing I've set something up wrong somewhere??

Well one thing that's pretty much wrong for sure :

The criticial devices on your network do not seem to have a Static IP Address configured at OS level !!

Stuff like :

- Your Raspberry Pi running Pi-Hole.
- Perhaps a NAS or some kind of Server.  
Basically anything that's not your average PC/Laptop/Tablet/Phone should be configured that way 😉

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nero355](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nero355/32/54774_2.png) [@nero355](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nero355)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:16pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/9 "2026-09-21T14:16:24Z")

</div>

> [@ALDuck](#):
>
> Guessing I need to factory reset the hub and start from scratch?

- Configure the NIC of your PC within the same IP address range as your Router.
- Connect to the Router's webGUI.
- Enable the DHCP Server again.
- DONE! 👍

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/10 "2026-09-21T14:35:30Z")

</div>

I googled "configure pc NIC" and it said to go

Settings-\>Network & Internet-\>Ethernet-\>edit IP assignment

And I tried putting 192.168.0.4 as the IPv4/6 (not at the same time, tried one then the other) and it says it can't save the settings? Do I need to do anything else?

I am really out of my depth here, I only got the pi so I'd stop seeing temu and shien ads and pop ups in mobile games, so I'm sorry if I'm missing something really obvious with all this

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nite\_route](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nite_route/32/56186_2.png) [@nite\_route](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nite_route)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/11 "2026-09-21T14:40:27Z")

</div>

dont factory reset yet. first turn hub dhcp back on so the lan breathes again, then set a static on the pc so you can reach the hub + pi while you sort dhcp.

windows Settings "cant save" is usually the subnet field. it wants Prefix length, not 255.255.255.0. use:

- IP: 192.168.0.4
- Subnet prefix length: 24
- Gateway: 192.168.0.1
- Preferred DNS: 192.168.0.2 (or .1 for now)

if Settings still refuses, use the old dialog: Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change adapter settings → Ethernet → Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 → Use the following address. same numbers, subnet mask 255.255.255.0 works there.

or admin PowerShell:

New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -IPAddress 192.168.0.4 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 192.168.0.1  
Set-DnsClientServerAddress -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -ServerAddresses 192.168.0.2

(rename "Ethernet" if yours is "Ethernet 4")

once you can hit [http://192.168.0.1](http://192.168.0.1) and [http://192.168.0.2/admin](http://192.168.0.2/admin) again: leave hub dhcp ON, confirm pi-hole dhcp is enabled with gateway 192.168.0.1 and range .3-.254, THEN disable hub dhcp, then reboot the pc (or set it back to DHCP) so it leases from the pi. if that still kills the lan, leave hub dhcp on and only point dns at the pi. you do not need pi-hole dhcp just to block ads.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:05pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/12 "2026-09-21T15:05:51Z")

</div>

Control panel method got me the hub and pi/admin back thank you!!!  
But i now don't have lan on my pc  
Just to check before I turn router DHCP off again, pi should look like this?

 ![Screenshot 2026-09-21 at 15-59-32 Pi-hole raspberrypi](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/uploads/default/original/3X/f/2/f2895ce5af7d11d91572c231804735c60746e097.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/13 "2026-09-21T15:07:50Z")

</div>

And the hub this?

 ![20260921_160657163](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/uploads/default/original/3X/7/e/7ec9c12e5ab9969c3e0996a6f45e19fac6644a80.jpeg)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rdwebdesign](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/rdwebdesign/32/51363_2.png) [@rdwebdesign](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/rdwebdesign)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/14 "2026-09-21T16:01:51Z")

</div>

> [@ALDuck](#):
>
> But when I turned off the DHCP in my router the internet died and I lost the admin page again. So I'm guessing I've set something up wrong somewhere??

Did you configured a static IP on the Raspberry Pi OS before disabling the router DHCP server?

When you disable the router DHCP server, the Raspberry Pi will loose its DHCP lease and it will loose the IP. You need to set an IP directly on the Raspberry Pi OS before that.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:27pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/15 "2026-09-21T16:27:44Z")

</div>

I don't think so? And I don't know how to check?

In the router I've given the pi Mac address the permanent IP of .2 ?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nite\_route](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/nite_route/32/56186_2.png) [@nite\_route](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/nite_route)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/16 "2026-09-21T16:34:57Z")

</div>

hub reservation alone wont keep .2 alive once hub dhcp is off. the pi still needs a static set on the raspberry itself before you kill hub dhcp.

on the pi (while hub dhcp is still on and you can ssh or use a keyboard):

# most pi-hole kits use dhcpcd:

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

add near the bottom:

interface eth0  
static ip\_address=192.168.0.2/24  
static routers=192.168.0.1  
static domain\_name\_servers=127.0.0.1

then:

sudo systemctl restart dhcpcd  
ip a show eth0

your pi dhcp screenshot (gateway .1, range .3-.254) is the right shape. leave hub dhcp ON until that pi static sticks, THEN disable hub dhcp and renew the pc lease (or set the pc back to dhcp).

if you just want ads blocked and less pain: leave hub dhcp on forever, point hub dns (or each device dns) at 192.168.0.2, and turn pi-hole dhcp OFF. that skips this whole dance.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/17 "2026-09-21T17:27:45Z")

</div>

I did the first bit and got an empty black box. I added what you said but I'm not sure what to now do with it?

 ![20260921_182110497~2](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/uploads/default/original/3X/8/2/82b6f146bfa5f02223520e4471ff3d4100cb6c46.jpeg)

And my hub doesn't let me see the DNS, so I can't point it to the pi

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![deHakkelaar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/dehakkelaar/32/674_2.png) [@deHakkelaar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/deHakkelaar)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/18 "2026-09-21T17:28:23Z")

</div>

EDIT: Postings crossed.

> [@nite\_route](#):
>
> sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

Before you edit config files, you can validate if **dhcpcd** is installed when run below one:

`apt policy dhcpcd`

See if its enabled:

`systemctl is-enabled dhcpcd.service`

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ALDuck](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/alduck/32/56330_2.png) [@ALDuck](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/ALDuck)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/19 "2026-09-21T17:32:46Z")

</div>

> [@deHakkelaar](#):
>
> apt policy dhcpcd

I ran that and it says

```auto
dhcpcd:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 1:9.4.1-24\~deb12u5
Version table:
1:9.4.1-24\~deb12u5 500
500 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main arm64 Packages
500 http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm/main armhf Packages

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![deHakkelaar](https://discourse-cdn.pi-hole.net/user_avatar/discourse.pi-hole.net/dehakkelaar/32/674_2.png) [@deHakkelaar](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/u/deHakkelaar)\
**Post date:** [September 21, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/unable-to-connect-to-pihole-admin/87671/20 "2026-09-21T17:35:00Z")

</div>

EDIT: Postings crossed ... again 😉

> [@ALDuck](#):
>
> got an empty black box.

What do below three output?

`systemctl is-enabled dhcpcd.service`

`systemctl is-enabled NetworkManager.service`

`systemctl is-enabled io.netplan.Netplan.service`

Not sure if I got the last one right as i dont have a Netplan system:

```auto
$ apt-file list netplan.io | grep service
netplan.io: /usr/share/dbus-1/system-services/io.netplan.Netplan.service

```

FYI:

```auto
$ apt show netplan.io
[..]
Description: YAML network configuration abstraction for various backends
 netplan reads YAML network configuration files which are written
 by administrators, installers, cloud image instantiations, or other OS
 deployments. During early boot it then generates backend specific
 configuration files in /run to hand off control of devices to a particular
 networking daemon.
 .
 Currently supported backends are networkd and NetworkManager.

```

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