🛡️ Pi-hole v6.0: Advanced DNS Sinkhole for Raspberry Pi 3 B

Complete guide for ARMv6 with Debian Bullseye and Whitelist Automation

🔗 Official Resources
Pi-hole GitHub | v6 Migration Guide
Recommended Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit (Compatible with Pi 3 B)

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📋 Table of Contents

1. Hardware Requirements
2. OS Installation
3. Pi-hole Setup
4. Whitelist Automation
5. Maintenance

🛠️ Pi-hole v6 - Troubleshooting Guide 6. Troubleshooting

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🛠️ Hardware Requirements

Component	Specification
Raspberry Pi	3 Model B (ARMv6)
OS	Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy) Lite (32-bit)
Storage	16GB+ MicroSD Card
Power Supply	5V/2.5A

Why ARMv6?
Pi-hole v6 requires Debian Bullseye (11), which is only fully compatible with the legacy OS on Raspberry Pi 3 B.

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📥 OS Installation

Step 1: Flash the Image

1. Use Raspberry Pi Imager
2. Select OS:

   Raspberry Pi OS (Other) → Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy) Lite (32-bit)
   

3. Enable SSH: Click the gear icon → Enable SSH → Set password

Step 2: First Boot

# Connect via SSH
ssh [email protected] # Replace with your IP
Password: raspberry

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y

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⚡ Pi-hole Setup

Automated Install

# Run installer (skip OS check)
curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | PIHOLE_SKIP_OS_CHECK=true sudo -E bash

Key Choices:

• Upstream DNS: Google (ECS + DNSSEC)
• Web Interface: Enabled
• Logging: Enabled

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⚙️ Whitelist Automation

1. Create Your Whitelist

1. Create a whitelist.txt file:

   # Example Whitelist
   alexa.amazon.com
   device-metrics.us  
   *.tuya.com
   

2. Host it privately:
   • GitHub Private Repo: Upload and use the raw URL
   • Local Server: Use python3 -m http.server 8000

2. Auto-Update Script

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/whitelist-updater.sh

#!/bin/bash
WHITELIST_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/YourUsername/PrivateRepo/main/whitelist.txt"

wget -q -O /tmp/whitelist.txt "$WHITELIST_URL"
pihole -w --nuke
xargs -a /tmp/whitelist.txt -I {} pihole -w {}
pihole restartdns

Schedule Daily Updates:

sudo crontab -e
# Add:
@daily /usr/local/bin/whitelist-updater.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

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🔧 Maintenance

1. Regular Updates

# Update Pi-hole
sudo pihole -up

# Update OS
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Backup/Restore

# Export settings
sudo pihole -a -t

# Restore
sudo pihole -a -r /path/to/backup.tar.gz

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🚨 Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
DNS Failure	pihole restartdns
Web Interface Crash	sudo systemctl restart lighttpd
"Database Locked"	sudo systemctl restart pihole-FTL

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