How to Install Pi-hole V6 (2026.02.0) on Your NAS – Complete Ad-Blocking Tutorial

📋 What’s New in Pi-hole V6 2026.02.0

📋 Prerequisites

• A NAS device (Synology or UGREEN) running the latest firmware
• Docker installed – Container Manager (Synology) or Portainer (UGREEN)
• SSH access to your NAS (for advanced configuration)

Recommended NAS for Pi-hole

These NAS devices offer excellent Docker performance for running Pi-hole 24/7:

🚀 Pi-hole Docker Install 2026: Synology NAS Step-by-Step

Step 1: Prepare the Folder Structure

1. Open File Station and navigate to the docker shared folder
2. Create a new folder named pihole
3. Inside pihole, create two subfolders:
   • etc-pihole
   • dnsmasq.d

Step 2: Find Your Network Interface Name

1. Enable SSH on your Synology (Control Panel → Terminal & SNMP → Enable SSH)
2. Connect via SSH: ssh admin@your-nas-ip
3. Run: ifconfig
4. Look for the interface with your NAS’s IP address (usually eth0, ovs_eth0, or bond0)

Step 3: Create the Docker Compose Project

1. Open Container Manager
2. Click on Project → Create
3. Set:
   • Project name: pihole
   • Path: Select the pihole folder
   • Source: “Create docker-compose.yml”

version: "3"
services:
  pihole:
    container_name: pihole
    image: pihole/pihole:2026.02.0
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "67:67/udp"
      - "80:80/tcp"
    networks:
      ph_network:
        ipv4_address: 192.168.1.198  # Replace with desired static IP
      ph_bridge:
        ipv4_address: 192.168.100.2
    environment:
      TZ: 'America/New_York'          # Your timezone
      FTLCONF_webserver_api_password: 'your-strong-password'
      FTLCONF_dns_listeningMode: 'all'
    volumes:
      - '/volume1/docker/pihole/etc-pihole:/etc/pihole'
      - '/volume1/docker/pihole/dnsmasq.d:/etc/dnsmasq.d'
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
      - SYS_TIME
      - SYS_NICE
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  ph_bridge:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 192.168.100.0/24
          gateway: 192.168.100.1
  ph_network:
    name: ph_network
    driver: macvlan
    driver_opts:
      parent: eth0  # Replace with your interface
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 192.168.1.0/24      # Your network subnet
          gateway: 192.168.1.1         # Your router IP
  

Step 4: Deploy and Access

1. Click Next → Done
2. Wait for the container to start
3. Open browser: http://[YOUR_PIHOLE_IP]/admin
4. Log in with the password you set

🚀 Pi-hole Docker Install 2026: UGREEN NAS with Portainer

Step 1: Configure Google DNS

1. Go to Control Panel → Network → General tab
2. Check “Configure DNS server manually”
3. Set Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8, Alternative: 8.8.4.4

Step 2: Install Portainer (if not already installed)

docker volume create portainer_data
docker run -d -p 9000:9000 --name=portainer --restart=always \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer-ce:latest
  

Step 3: Deploy Using Portainer Stacks

1. Log into Portainer (http://your-nas-ip:9000)
2. Click Stacks → + Add stack
3. Name: pihole
4. Paste the configuration from the Synology section (adjust paths and network)

🔄 How to Update Pi-hole to Version 2026.02.0

Method A: Updating with Portainer

1. Stop the current container
2. Select the container and click Recreate
3. Check “Re-pull image”
4. Click Recreate then Start

Method B: Updating with Docker Compose (Synology)

cd /volume1/docker/pihole
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
  

🌙 How to Activate Dark Mode in Pi-hole V6

1. Log into Pi-hole admin interface
2. Go to Settings → Web interface / API
3. Under Theme settings, choose:
   • Pi-hole deep-midnight – dark blue/black theme
   • High-contrast dark – high-contrast dark mode
4. Click Save & Apply

📋 How to Update Pi-hole Domain Blacklist

Recommended Blocklists

• StevenBlack Unified – https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
• EasyList – https://easylist.to/easylist/easylist.txt
• OISD Full – https://big.oisd.nl/

Update via Web Interface

1. Go to Group Management → Adlists
2. Add new list URLs
3. Go to Tools → Update Gravity
4. Click Update

Update via Command Line

docker exec -it pihole pihole -g
  

🔧 Troubleshooting Common Issues

Last updated: February 22, 2026 | All methods tested on Synology DSM 7.2 and UGREEN UGOS Pro