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Written 5 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

Put a Pi-hole backup back with Teleporter

After a reinstall or a bad list, import the Teleporter zip so allow lists, deny entries, and local DNS names return. Fresh Pi-hole first. You don't need a new Raspberry Pi.

Haven't saved a settings zip yet? Start with save a Pi-hole backup before you change things. Haven't installed the house ad block yet? Start with the first useful thing. This note is only the import job. Photos and documents are a different restore: put the house folder back from the backup.

Skip until you have a zip and a working Pi-hole

No zip on the laptop or in the house share means there is nothing to import. Export first. If Pi-hole is not answering DNS on this computer yet, finish install (and point the router) before you restore settings. Importing onto a half-broken install just copies the mess. Ads never dropped after a fresh install? Fix DNS with point common home routers at Pi-hole before you touch Teleporter.

What this is

Teleporter Import (Restore on some builds) reads the zip you exported earlier and writes those settings back into Pi-hole: allow and deny lists, subscribed block lists, local DNS names, and related admin choices. It is not a full disk image. It is not the house photo share. It overwrites matching settings on the current install, so only run it when you mean that.

Step 1: find the zip

On the laptop, look in Downloads for a file named like a Pi-hole teleporter export (often a dated .zip). Better: open the house share and grab the copy you parked there. If you never exported, stop and make one on a working install when you can, or rebuild lists by hand. One file you recognize is enough. Don't unzip it for this walk. Teleporter wants the zip itself.

Step 2: prove Pi-hole answers before you import

On a laptop on the house network, open http://pi.hole/admin, or the computer's address plus /admin. Log in with the admin password (not the Linux SSH password). Forgot it? Change the Pi-hole admin password.

From SSH:

pihole status

You want DNS listening and blocking enabled. Admin page blank? when the Pi-hole admin page won't open. Fresh OS after a wipe? Install Pi-hole again with the first useful thing, then come back here with the zip.

Step 3: open Teleporter

In the left menu, open Settings, then the Teleporter tab. Menu labels can shift a little by Pi-hole version. You want Backup / Restore (Export / Import on some builds). Same page you used to save the zip.

Step 4: import the zip

Choose the zip file. Leave the default checkboxes checked unless you know you want to skip one group (for example, keep today's local DNS and only restore lists). Click Restore or Import. Wait until the page finishes. Do not close the tab mid-import. Do not import an old zip onto a healthy install just to see what happens.

Step 5: confirm settings and ads

From SSH:

pihole status

In the admin page, spot-check Domains (allow / deny), Local DNS / DNS Records if you used short house names, and the subscribed lists. On a phone that uses house DNS (not guest Wi-Fi, not cellular alone), load a page that used to show ads. Ads should drop again. A bank or login breaks after the restore? That is when a site won't load after Pi-hole. Ads back on every device is still when ads come back (router DNS and the computer first), not a reason to buy a second Pi.

If the import fails or looks wrong

Wrong file: pick the dated zip you exported, not a random archive. Admin password after restore: some zips bring an older password hash. If login fails, set a new one from SSH with the Pi-hole password walk linked above. Router still pointed at the old number after a reinstall? Re-find the computer with find it on the house network, then re-point DNS. Local names missing after import? Add them again with add a local name in Pi-hole, or re-import with Local DNS selected.

What this is not

This is not a reason to buy a second Raspberry Pi as a “hot spare.” It is not copying all of /etc/pihole by hand for a first-timer. It is not restoring photos. It is not opening the admin page past the house network. It is not a substitute for weekly software updates: keep Pi-hole updated.

What next

Save a fresh zip after the restore settles: save a Pi-hole backup before you change things. Tired of typing the number? Add a local name in Pi-hole. Once a week, keep Pi-hole updated. After a full PC wipe, put the share back with a file share, then put the house folder back from the backup so photos return with the settings.

Optional: jot that you restored Pi-hole settings in Lab plan — username + passkey, no email. Skip if you just want to keep reading.

Skip

Sources

Pi-hole docs. Pi-hole command. Teleporter lives under Settings in the admin UI on the computer. Official pages only. For the export walk, see save a Pi-hole backup before you change things. For install, see the first useful thing. For the admin password, see change the Pi-hole admin password. For photo restore, see put the house folder back from the backup.

Also on this topic

Save a Pi-hole backup before you change thingsExport settings with Teleporter so a reinstall or a bad list does not wipe your allow list and local DNS. You don't need a new Raspberry Pi. The first useful thingPut a house-wide ad block on the old PC. The rest of the house keeps using the internet as usual. You don't need a Raspberry Pi. Keep Pi-hole updatedWeekly apt does not refresh Pi-hole. Update the software and the block lists on the old PC so ads stay gone. You don't need a new Raspberry Pi. Add a local name in Pi-holeGive the old PC a short house name so phones and laptops can open SSH, the share, and the admin page without remembering the number. You don't need a new router. When ads come backAds are back, sites won't load, or a phone still shows banners. Check the computer, Pi-hole, router DNS, then the phone. When a site won't load after Pi-holeA bank, streamer, or login page breaks after Pi-hole. Pause blocking for five minutes, then allow the domain you need. You don't need a new router. When the Pi-hole admin page won't openhttp://pi.hole/admin or the computer's address plus /admin won't load. Check house Wi-Fi, the address, then Pi-hole and the web service. You don't need a new router. Point common home routers at Pi-holeWhere to set DNS on TP-Link, ASUS, eero, Netgear, Nest, and ISP gateways so the house asks Pi-hole. Prefer LAN DHCP DNS. You don't need a new router. Block a site in Pi-hole on purposeOne domain you don't want in the house. Add it to the deny list. You don't wipe every block list or buy a new router. Put the house folder back from the backupAfter a wipe, a reinstall, or an empty share, copy the house folder from the USB (or second old PC) back onto the computer. You don't need a NAS. Change the Pi-hole admin passwordAfter the house ad block is up, change the admin password the installer printed. That password is not the login.