I have the Pi-Hole acting as the DHCP server and DNS server too and this works fine for 23 hours and then it flops and I don’t understand why.

Basically after 24 hours, all devices just disconnect from the router and when I try and reconnect them, they say they’re unable to get an IP address.

But before they drop connection, they all report the DNS server as the Pi-Hole.

If I change my DHCP to static and connect to my router, I see that the Pi-Hole is still connected with its static IP just fine.

If I factory reset the router and then add the same SSID and password, the Pi-Hole automatically reconnects and then all devices can reconnect again, so I’m unsure what the issue is.

Can someone break this down. I feel stupid for not understanding what’s happening here.

  • Matt The Horwood
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    21 month ago

    if you can see pi-hole from the router, can you connect to it over SSH and see what pings and what it thinks the network looks like?

    Also did the VM router just turn DHCP back on with the wrong settings?

    Is pi-hole over WiFi? if it is that could your issue, DHCP/DNS should be over cable as they are required for stable networking

    • @sabreW4K3OP
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      11 month ago

      if you can see pi-hole from the router, can you connect to it over SSH and see what pings and what it thinks the network looks like?

      When it goes tomorrow around 11 o’clock, I’ll SSH in and report back.

      Also did the VM router just turn DHCP back on with the wrong settings?

      Nope, when I log into the VM router admin page, DHCP is still off.

      Is pi-hole over WiFi? if it is that could your issue, DHCP/DNS should be over cable as they are required for stable networking

      Yep, the Pi-Hole is hosted on a Pi-Hole Zero 2 W, so it’s WiFi only. I thought setting the DHCP lease time on the Pi-Hole to a year would solve the issue, but nope, after 24 hours, everything disconnects and the only way to get them to reconnect is to factory reset the router.

      • Matt The Horwood
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        21 month ago

        I would read up on static ip on the pi zero, not via DHCP. That might sort your issue

    • @sabreW4K3OP
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      11 month ago

      if you can see pi-hole from the router, can you connect to it over SSH and see what pings and what it thinks the network looks like?

      I’ve just confirmed that I can’t SSH to it, it says

      ssh: connect to host 192.168.1.100 port 22: No route to host
      
      • @sabreW4K3OP
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        11 month ago

        Okay, so after searching left, right and centre, I found something interesting. I have both my 5G and my 2.4G using the same SSID, could that be the cause of the issue?

      • Matt The Horwood
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        11 month ago

        yeah, your PI zero goes to renew its DHCP lease and cant as its lost its IP and so cant see the DHCP server its running.

        I would read up on how to set a debian static IP, that way you know how and your Pi zero will work all the time

          • Matt The Horwood
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            21 month ago

            Your very welcome, I do support a SaaS system for the UK NHS. So I do have a bit of networking skills, that and I self host things both at home and in OVH.

            If you have your pi zero setup with a static ip, you should find things work all day every day now.

            Just remember that every day is a school day, even for experienced sysadmins.

            • @sabreW4K3OP
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              11 month ago

              It’s either been 24 hours of 17 hours, I can’t quite recall, but it seems to be sticking. Everything is working. Thank you so so so so much. Honestly, I’m smiling like a little kid right now. Thank you so so so much!

              Honestly, with you doing sysadmin for the NHS, I’m more confident to get sick now 😂

              Nah, I can’t thank you enough. You’re a bloody legend. Thank you, thank you and thank you again!