Written 26 Aug 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card. Buy links are not tagged yet.

When ads come back, check the leftover-box ad block

The leftover box is awake, but banners are back. Check that Pi-hole is still answering before you buy a mesh kit or blame the router.

Ads coming back usually means the house stopped asking the leftover box for names, or Pi-hole stopped answering. You do not need a new mesh kit for this. You do not need to redo the whole router. Check the box that already did the job once.

Skip until the box is awake

If ping and SSH fail, fix that first in is the leftover box still on? This note assumes the leftover box answers SSH from the couch.

Skip until Pi-hole was working once

If you never installed Pi-hole, start with the first useful thing on the leftover box. If you never pointed the house at that box, do that in point the house at the leftover-box ad block. This note is for the morning when ads came back after it already worked.

Is Pi-hole still running?

SSH from the couch, then:

pihole status

Or if that command is missing:

sudo systemctl is-active pihole-FTL

You want active / listening. If it is not, restart it:

sudo systemctl restart pihole-FTL

Or, if the pihole CLI is there, pihole restartdns. Then open the admin page in a browser the way the first useful thing on the leftover box taught. Sites should load. A lot of the banners should not.

Is the house still pointed at the leftover box?

On one phone or laptop, check that DNS is still the leftover-box address. That is the router LAN DNS you set, or the device DNS you set for a test. If the router forgot the setting after a power blink, set it again: point the house at the leftover-box ad block. A DHCP reservation helps the number stay put after a reboot.

Firewall can hide DNS

If ufw is on and no names resolve, allow port 53 as in turn on a simple firewall without locking yourself out. House network only. Do not forward port 53 to the internet.

What next

Leave it. Skip a mesh kit. Skip Unbound. Skip buying a Raspberry Pi. If the share also vanished, see the Samba section in turn on a simple firewall without locking yourself out or start from a file share on the leftover box.

Skip

Skip if the leftover box is off.
Skip if Pi-hole was never installed.
Skip a mesh kit for ad block.
Skip Unbound on day one.
Skip opening Pi-hole to the internet.
Skip a second box.

Sources

Pi-hole docs. Pi-hole basic install. Official pages only. For the awake check, see is the leftover box still on?. For install, see the first useful thing on the leftover box. For router DNS, see point the house at the leftover-box ad block. For the firewall ports, see turn on a simple firewall without locking yourself out. For the stable address, see keep the leftover box on the same number.

Also on this topic

Is the leftover box still on?You left the leftover box on. This morning ads are back, or SSH hangs. Check if it is awake before you buy anything. Point the house at the leftover-box ad blockAfter Pi-hole is installed, tell the house router to ask the leftover box for names. Phones and laptops need no app. Sites still load. A lot of ads do not. The first useful thing on the leftover boxPut a house-wide ad block on the leftover box. The rest of the house keeps using the internet as usual. You do not need a Raspberry Pi. Turn on a simple firewall without locking yourself outAfter SSH from the couch works, allow OpenSSH, then turn on ufw. The leftover box stays reachable. Surprise inbound ports do not.