Fritzhole: how to use your Fritzbox as an ad blocker
Google appears to be increasingly gaining the upper hand in the battle against ad blockers. Luckily, Fritzbox users have a workaround.
Next week’s a big one: Google will remove the last remaining browser extensions based on Manifest V2. Among other things, the WebRequest API must be replaced by the Declarative.Net Request API. Many extensions won’t work with it. Due to the static filter rules required by Manifest V3, some ad blockers in particular will only function to a limited extent.
Still, routers with DNS filter lists offer an alternative. Fritzbox is one of them. With one, you can block ads across all devices.
Note: you’ll need FritzOS 8.40b or later to do this. At the moment, it’s still a beta version that you have to install manually. If you don’t have any experience with it, I’d advise against following this tip.
How the Fritzhole works
In FritzOS 8.40b, which you can download here, the manufacturer has included a DNS filter that may remind some users of Pi-Hole. Instead of blocking individual ads in the browser, the Fritzbox’s new function blocks requests to certain ad and tracking servers before they are even sent. So if a device on your network tries to access such an address, the request will come up empty. The ad won’t load.
How to enable the ad blocker
After you’ve downloaded the beta to your Fritzbox (you can check which Fritzbox models are supported at the link above), open your router’s user interface. To get there, enter fritz.Box or the router’s IP address in your browser. It’ll likely be 192.168.178.1 or 192.168.1.1. Next, log in and navigate to the following path: System > Update > FRITZ!OS file.
I recommend that you back up your Fritzbox configuration before installing it.
Once the update’s complete, you’re ready to go: Fritz’s DNS filter uses filter lists. You can either create your own or use publicly available lists – such as the Light list or the stricter Normal list from Project Hagezi on GitHub. Select the Wildcard Domains list in either case and copy the URL to the clipboard.
In this example, I’m using Hagezi Light. Next, go back to your Fritzbox interface and open: Home network > Network > Network Settings > Advanced Network Settings > DNS filters.
Click Add Filter and paste the URL. Done.
Verdict: not perfect, but decent
The good thing about this trick is that, since the filter operates at the router level, it works for all devices connected to the internet via the Fritzbox. One thing that can sometimes be problematic is that, as a DNS solution, it can only block entire domains or servers, but not individual ad elements on a website. That’s why you’ll sometimes only see blank or grey spaces where ads would normally appear. Not ideal either. As a makeshift solution for the basics, though, Fritzhole definitely gets the job done.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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