Written 7 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

When the house name won't resolve

lab.home (or your local name) says unknown host, or SSH and the share still need the IP. Prove which DNS the device uses, check the Pi-hole record, then the reserved address. Skip a new router tonight.

Haven't added a Local DNS row yet? Start with add a local name in Pi-hole. Only renaming the Linux hostname on the computer itself? That quieter job is give the computer a name that sticks. Ads back on every device? Fix house DNS first: when ads come back. This note is when the short name you already saved still fails on a phone or laptop.

Skip until you have a name and a number

You need the short name you meant to use (for example lab.home) and the computer's house address. Don't know the number? Find it on the house network. Can't open the Pi-hole admin page at all? when the Pi-hole admin page won't open. Guest Wi-Fi only? Guest networks often never ask Pi-hole: when guest Wi-Fi still shows ads.

What this is

A Local DNS record in Pi-hole answers a name you invent with the computer's address. It only works for devices that already use Pi-hole as DNS. Failures are almost always: the device is not asking Pi-hole, the record points at the wrong number, the number moved after a reboot, or you typed .local / a typo. The fix is not a mesh kit.

Step 1: copy the exact failure

On the laptop or phone that fails, note what you tried and what it said. Common shapes:

ping: lab.home: Name or service not known / unknown host
SSH hangs on the name, but ssh youruser@192.168.x.x works
Share path with the name fails; the same path with the number works
Browser opens http://192.168.x.x/admin but not http://lab.home/admin

If the number path also fails, you are not on a name problem yet. Share won't open: when the house share won't open. SSH won't connect: when SSH won't connect.

Step 2: prove which DNS that device uses

Stay on the main house Wi-Fi (not guest). On a laptop:

resolvectl status

Or:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

On Windows, open a terminal:

ipconfig /all

Find DNS Servers for the active adapter. You want the computer's house address (the Pi-hole box), not 8.8.8.8, not the ISP. On a phone, open the Wi-Fi detail for this network and read DNS. Private DNS / Private Relay / a VPN that forces its own DNS will skip Pi-hole and never see your Local DNS row. Same walk as ads on one device: when one phone still shows ads, when one laptop still shows ads.

Router still handing out ISP DNS house-wide? Point it again: point common home routers at Pi-hole. Nest or a gateway that will not take LAN DNS? Set this one device by hand: point a phone or laptop at Pi-hole when the router won't.

Step 3: ask Pi-hole for the name on purpose

From a laptop that does use the computer as DNS:

dig +short lab.home @192.168.x.x

Swap in your real name and the computer's address. You want one line with that same address. Empty answer, NXDOMAIN, or a wrong number means the Local DNS row is missing, mistyped, or pointed at a stale IP.

Compare with the public path (should fail or go elsewhere):

dig +short lab.home @1.1.1.1

A house name is not on the open internet. If Cloudflare answers nothing useful, that is normal. Your phone must ask the computer, not Cloudflare.

Step 4: open the Local DNS row

On a device that can reach the admin page, open http://pi.hole/admin or the computer's address plus /admin. Log in with the Pi-hole admin password. Forgot it? Change the printed Pi-hole admin password.

Open Local DNS (sometimes under Settings). Find the Domain and IP row for your name.

No row: add it the way add a local name in Pi-hole describes.
Typo in the Domain: delete and re-add, or edit if your build allows.
Ending is .local: change to .home or .lan. Phones already use .local for a different trick, and it fights.
IP is an old number: put the current address from hostname -I on the computer, or from find it on the house network.

Save. Then re-run the dig from Step 3.

Step 5: lock the number so the name stops drifting

If the name worked last week and died after a reboot, the computer probably got a new DHCP lease. Reserve the address on the router: keep it on the same number, brand menus in reserve an address on common home routers. Router will not reserve? Set a fixed address on the PC: give the computer a fixed address when the router won't. Then fix the Local DNS IP to match. Two live addresses (Wi-Fi + cable) can also confuse which number the name should hit: when the old PC has two house addresses.

Step 6: clear a sticky cache, then retry the real job

On the failing laptop, flush DNS after you fix the record:

Linux:

resolvectl flush-caches

Windows:

ipconfig /flushdns

Mac:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

On a phone, toggle Wi-Fi off and on (or Forget and rejoin the house network) so it picks up DNS again. Then retry the job you care about:

SSH: ssh youruser@lab.home (SSH from the couch)
Share: smb://lab.home/photos or \\lab.home\photos (open from a laptop, from a phone)
Admin: http://lab.home/admin

Pi-hole query log still empty while ads and names both fail? when Pi-hole shows no queries.

What this is not

This is not buying a public domain. It is not renaming the Linux hostname alone (give the computer a name that sticks). It is not opening Pi-hole or SMB to the internet. It is not Unbound, Docker, or a second Pi for "split DNS." It is not a reason to replace the router when one device still uses Private DNS.

What next

Keep the weekly Pi-hole habit: keep Pi-hole updated. Export settings so local names survive a reinstall: save a Pi-hole backup. Ads clean but a bank page broken? when a site won't load after Pi-hole. Still building the first share: a file share on the computer.

Optional: jot the working house name and reserved address in Lab plan — username + passkey, no email. Skip if you just want to keep reading.

Skip

Skip a new router before you prove which DNS the failing device uses.
Skip .local as the ending for a Pi-hole Local DNS name.
Skip pointing a house name at an address that changes every reboot.
Skip blaming Samba or SSH until dig @computer returns the right number.
Skip opening the admin page past the house network.
Skip buying a public domain for a first house nickname.

Sources

Pi-hole docs. Pi-hole FTL configuration (hosts / hostRecord). Debian: dig. Debian: resolvectl. Official pages only. For adding the record, see add a local name in Pi-hole. For router DNS, see point common home routers at Pi-hole. For one stubborn phone, see when one phone still shows ads.

Also on this topic

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. Give the computer a name that sticksPing and SSH are easier if the computer has a short name. lab works. Set it so the name survives a reboot. 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. When one phone still shows adsEveryone else's ads dropped. One phone still shows banners. Check Private DNS, Private Relay, a VPN, then the Wi-Fi lease. 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 Pi-hole shows no queriesAdmin opens, totals stay at zero, query log empty. Prove the house asks the computer for DNS, then check Pi-hole status. You don't need a new Raspberry Pi. Keep it on the same numberSSH and Pi-hole keep working after a reboot when the router always gives the computer the same address. Find it on the house networkThe computer has a number on your house network. You need that number to SSH from the couch. You don't need a new router.