First run update packages and upgrade Ubuntu Server

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

To check if curl is installed and functioning on Ubuntu Server 24.04, run the command

curl --version

If curl is not installed, run this command to install it:

sudo apt install curl -y

Next, Disable the default systemd-resolved DNS stub listener to free up Port 53 for Pi-hole. Then, restart systemd-resolved with the following commands:

sudo sed -i 's/#DNSStubListener=yes/DNSStubListener=no/' /etc/systemd/resolved.conf

sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

Next intall Pi-Hole for standard bare metal server environments (not containerized) using the Official Automated Script – Run the official network installer command:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

OPTION: When installing on Ubuntu version 26.04, you will instead need to disable the Operating System version check when running the official network installer of Pi-Hole:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | sudo PIHOLE_SKIP_OS_CHECK=true bash

Complete the Configuration of Pi-Hole.

Once the installation wizard launches in your terminal: Follow the on-screen prompts to choose an upstream DNS provider (such as Cloudflare or Google), or use the two DNS servers from your ISP.

Write down for safekeeping the Admin Web Interface Password displayed at the very end of the installation process. Then log into your dashboard by opening a web browser and navigating to:

http://<YOUR_SERVER_IP>/admin 

IMPORTANT: You must change the port used to access Pi-Hole Admin dashboard if you want both Apache and the Pi-hole web dashboard to run on the same Ubuntu server. By default, both try to bind to Port 80, which will cause a conflict and prevent one of them from starting.

However, the official installer does not give you an option to change the port during the installation wizard. You must configure it immediately after the installation finished. Pi-hole v6 uses an embedded web server managed directly through pihole-FTL. If Apache is already active, the Pi-hole installer will finish, but its web service will fail to start. Fix this immediately after the installation script finishes:

sudo vim /etc/pihole/pihole.toml

Look for the [webserver] section and locate the port variable. Change 80 to an open port like 8080.

port = "8080o,443os,[::]:8080o,[::]:443os"

Save the file (Esc from Insert mode and type :w then Enter) and exit vim (:q! then enter). Restart the Pi-hole system service to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart pihole-FTL

The Pi-Hole installer steps:

The installer will transform your device into a network-wide ad blocker!

The Pi-Hole is free but powered by your donations, https://pi-hole.net/donate

Pi-hole is a server and needs a static IP address to function properly. Please continue when the static addressing has been configured.

Select an upstream DNS provider:

There is a list and then there is “custom” so, select Custom and click ok.

Enter your desired Upstream DNS providers separated by a comma +1 space, for example: 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4

Confirm that your DNS entries are correct.

Do you want to use StevenBlack's Unified Host List (block list)? Yes or No. I selected No. You can add this later if you wish. Or add your own chosen block list later.

Would you like to enable Query Logging? Yes or No. I selected No.

Select a privacy mode for FTL. With my mouse, I chose: 3 - Anonymous Mode and Continue

See: https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/privacylevels.

INSTALL RESULTS:

  [i] SELinux not detected
  [✓] Update local cache of available packages
  [✓] Building dependency package pihole-meta.deb
  [✓] Installing Pi-hole dependency package

  [i] IPv4 address: 192.168.2.152/24
  [i] Unable to find IPv6 ULA/GUA address
  [i] IPv6 address:
  [i] Using upstream DNS: Custom (74.40.74.40, 74.40.74.41)
  [i] Using upstream DNS: Custom (74.40.74.40, 74.40.74.41)
  [i] Not installing StevenBlack's Unified Hosts List
  [i] Not installing StevenBlack's Unified Hosts List
  [i] Query Logging off.
  [i] Query Logging off.
  [i] Using privacy level: 3
  [✗] Check for existing repository in /etc/.pihole
  [i] Clone https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole.git into /etc/.pihole...^[[<0;53;27mHEAD is now at f47b8ed v6.4.3 (#6618)
  [✓] Clone https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole.git into /etc/.pihole

  [✗] Check for existing repository in /var/www/html/admin
  [i] Clone https://github.com/pi-hole/web.git into /var/www/html/admin...HEAD is now at b2a4078 Web v6.6 (#3808)
  [✓] Clone https://github.com/pi-hole/web.git into /var/www/html/admin

  [✗] Checking for group 'pihole'
  [✓] Creating group 'pihole'
  [✓] Creating user 'pihole'

  [i] FTL Checks...

  [✓] Detected x86_64 architecture
  [✓] Downloading and Installing FTL
  [✓] Installing scripts from /etc/.pihole

  [i] Installing configs from /etc/.pihole...

  [✓] Installing latest Cron script

  [✓] Installing latest logrotate script
  [✓] man pages installed and database updated
  [i] Testing if systemd-resolved is enabled
  [✓] Disabling systemd-resolved DNSStubListener
  [i] Restarting services...
  [✓] Enabling pihole-FTL service to start on reboot...
  [✓] Restarting pihole-FTL service...
  [\e[1;31m✗\e[0m] Failed to set dns.queryLogging. Try with sudo power
root@xcsvr:/etc/systemd# 0;53;27m

  [\e[1;31m✗\e[0m] Failed to set dns.queryLogging. Try with sudo power
root@xcsvr:/etc/systemd# 0;53;27m
0: command not found
53: command not found
27m: command not found