When Nintendo launched the NES Classic Edition, gamers went nuts with nostalgia. They bought the limited edition mini console at an alarming rate, making the NES Classic Edition hard to find. While the mini console is great for any nostalgia or classic game enthusiast, its slate of 30 NES games isn't the only retro gaming solution out there. Here are our favorite alternatives to the NES Classic Edition.

Retro your way

If you take anything away from this list, it should be this; it's an amazing time to be a retro gamer. With fantastic retro consoles coming out by tons of different companies, there have never been more ways to play your favorite classic games.

For the most customizable experience with both console look and feel, controller options, and game capability, the Raspberry Pi is going to be your best option. The system itself is very affordable, and how you build it up is totally up to you! If you want to play specifically NES and SNES games, the Switch or Switch Lite with Nintendo Switch Online has a big library of games to choose from.

Don't run out of games to play when you're stuck at home make your own retro gaming console. For less than the cost of a Nintendo classic system, you can build a Raspberry Pi system that'll play all the retro games your heart could possibly desire. I built my own and slapped that puppy in an old NES case, and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. I have it loaded with every NES, SNES, Master System, and TurboGrafx game ever released. Quite simply, I love this handcrafted retro gaming powerhouse, and you can have one as well.

The following article hopes to help guide you down the path to your first Raspberry Pi retro emulation system.

• The brains of the machine: Raspberry Pi 4 B ($42 at Amazon)
• Storage for your games: 32GB SanDisk Micro SD card ($8 at Amazon)
• Power supply: Enokay Power Supply for Raspberry Pi ($9 at Amazon)
• A quality HDMI cable: MonoPrice Certified Premium HDMI Cable ($7 at Amazon)
• A keyboard for initial setup: AmazonBasics Wired Keyboard ($14 at Amazon)
• A retro controller: Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad ($37 at Amazon)
• A really cool looking case: Retroflag Raspberry Pi case ($21 at Amazon)

On your computer: Setting up the image on the SD card

1. Go to https://retropie.org.uk/download and download the "Raspberry Pi 2/3" image. Make sure to remember where you save it!
2. Go to https://www.balena.io/etcher// and download the correct version for your system, then install. I prefer Etcher for its simple interface and compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux.Source: iMore

3. Open up Etcher and click Select image.
4. Navigate to where you saved your RetroPie image and select it.Source: iMore

5. Next click Select drive.
6. Choose your SD card (Make sure you select the correct drive letter. You don't want to write your OS drive with an image of Retropie!) Then click continue.Source: iMore

7. Click the flash button. Source: iMore

It will take a few moments, but once it's done writing, you will have an SD card that's ready to roll!

On the Raspberry Pi: Initial setup for your RetroPie

1. Insert your newly flashed micro SD card into your Raspberry Pi.
2. Connect the network cable to your Raspberry Pi.
3. Plug an HDMI cable to your Raspberry Pi and then to a TV or monitor.
4. Plug your USB controller into your Raspberry Pi.
5. Finally, plug your micro USB power supply into a wall outlet and to your Raspberry Pi. Your Raspberry will now begin its first boot.Source: iMore

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your USB controller.Source: iMore

On the Raspberry Pi: Setting up your Wi-Fi connection

If you are not going to hardwire your system to the internet, now is the time to set up your WiFi. You are going to need a USB keyboard to do that, so go ahead and plug your keyboard into your Raspberry Pi.

1. Navigate to the Retro Pie configuration page.
2. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and select the Wi-Fi option.Source: iMore

3. Next select Connect to Wi-Fi Network.
4. Now select the network you wish to connect to.Source: iMore

5. You will then be prompted to enter your Wi-Fi password. This is where you will need that USB keyboard.
6. Once you have connected to your network, be sure to take note of your IP address.Source: iMore

Adding the games

Your new Raspberry Pi/RetroPie system comes with all the emulators you could need pre-installed. Emulators use things called ROMs to boot and play games. Think of ROMs as the modern-day equivalent of a game cartridge. No cartridge, no games, so you are going to have to load up your system with all the ROMs you want to play. Now, I can't tell you exactly where to pick up ROMs, but if you have at least marginal google-fu skills, you should have no problem finding a resource that'll fulfill all your needs.

There are a few different methods of moving ROMs onto your system. My favorite method is to use RetroPie Manager. It allows you to move ROMs from the computer you downloaded them directly onto your Raspberry Pi using your computer's browser.

On the Raspberry Pi: Enabling RetroPie Manager

The first thing you are going to need to do is to enable RetroPie Manager on your Raspberry Pi.

1. Navigate to your settings menu on your Raspberry Pi and select Retropie Setup.
2. Select Manage Packages.Source: iMore

3. Select Manage experimental packages.
4. Scroll almost to the bottom and select Retropie manager.Source: iMore

5. Select Install from source. Your system will now run a script which will download and install Retropie manager for you.Source: iMore

6. Once it has completed select Configuration/Options.
7. Select Enable Retropie Manager on boot.Source: iMore

8. Finally, reboot your system.

Back on your computer: Moving the ROMs

The computer you are going to be using needs to have all your ROMs, and it needs to be on the same network as your Raspberry Pi.

1. Open the internet browser of your choice. In the address bar, enter the IP address of the Raspberry Pi, which you noted earlier followed by ":8000". The address should look something like; 192.168.X.XXX:8000. This will take you to the RetroPie Manager page. There are all sorts of interesting and helpful data here, but for now, all you need to do is…
2. Click on Manage Rom files for emulated systems.

3. Here you will find all the emulated systems on your Raspberry Pi. Select the system you would like to add ROMs for and click on it.
4. Now all you have to do is drag and drop your ROMs into this window. Easy Breezy!Source: iMore

5. Once you have all your ROMs loaded onto your system, give your Raspberry Pi a reboot and you're all ready for a retro gaming party to beat the band.

While other mini-computers on the market could do the job, the Raspberry Pi is just the simplest and most inefficient machine for making a retro gaming system in this method.

When you're talking about storing your retro games, you don't need a ton of space, because the game files are very small in size. A fast, inexpensive, but reliable micro SD card will do the trick!

We especially love that this one comes with an external power button n the cable, giving you the ability to cut off to your Raspberry Pi whenever you want.

The Raspberry Pi itself is a pretty simple machine to use and set up, but here are some additional product you may need, if you don't have any lying around, that will ensure your building process goes off without a hitch.

MonoPrice Certified Premium HDMI Cable ($7 at Amazon)

A simple, high-quality HDMI cable will ensure you can hook your new retro gaming system up to your favorite TV or monitor.

AmazonBasics Wired Keyboard ($14 at Amazon)

You can use any USB keyboard to get the job done, but if you don't' have an extra laying around the house, this basic one will help you out.

Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad ($37 at Amazon)

If you're going to make a retro gaming system, your controller should look the part! The Classic USB Gamepad has all the buttons you need and that retro look and feel you've been craving!

Buffalo Classic USB Gamepad ($21 at Amazon)

If you want you can wrap your Raspberry Pi up into this neat little case that looks like an NES — perfect for completing that retro look

The Raspberry Pi mini-computer is so small that those dangling USB cables can make creating projects cumbersome. You can cut out the cable that connects it to the Internet by switching to Wi-Fi. All you need is a compatible USB Wi-Fi adapter, which you can pick up at most electronics and office supply stores. The setup process is simple if you follow the steps below.

• How to get started with Raspberry Pi

How to connect the USB Wi-Fi adapter

Before you boot up your Raspberry Pi, make sure the Wi-Fi adapter is plugged in.

1. Connect the Wi-Fi adapter to any open USB port on the Raspberry Pi.

2. Connect all additional peripherals, like the monitor, keyboard and mouse.
3. Connect the Raspberry Pi to its microUSB power source.

When the Raspberry Pi boots up, it will automatically recognize the Wi-Fi adapter if it is compatible.

How to check to make sure Raspberry Pi recognizes your USB Wi-Fi adapter

It is important to make sure your Wi-Fi adapter is compatible with your Raspberry Pi. Adafruit has a list of compatible Wi-Fi adapters for Raspberry Pi, but a Google search will bring a plethora of options. Once your Raspberry Pi has booted up, you can check the boot list to make sure it recognizes your Wi-Fi adapter.

1. Select Terminal to open a command window. It is the icon in the upper left corner of the screen that looks like a computer monitor
2. When Terminal opens, type the following command: dmesg | more

3. Press Enter on the keyboard. A long list of boot code will appear.
4. Tap the space bar to page down, about 10 times, until you see the highlighted boot reference below.

This code confirms that Raspberry Pi recognizes the connected USB Wi-Fi adapter. If the highlighted code isn't on the boot list, your Wi-Fi adapter may not be compatible.

How to log on to the local Wi-Fi network

Logging on to the local Wi-Fi network is just about as easy as joining on your home computer.

1. Select the Wi-Fi icon in the upper right corner of the screen. A list of nearby networks will appear.
2. Select the network you wish to join. A password entry window will appear.

3. Enter the Wi-Fi password in the form next to Pre Shared Key.
4. Select OK.

You will be logged onto the local Wi-Fi network and ready to go online.

March 14 is known as Pi Day because the date represents the first three numbers in the mathematical constant π (3.14). We're celebrating with our coverage of everything Raspberry Pi related. If you've never even thought of what HTML means, you can still create amazing gadgets using Raspberry Pi and a bit of imagination.

• The Pi: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ ($47 at Amazon)
• For downloading the software: SanDisk Ultra 32GB microSD card ($8 at Amazon)
• For adapting the microSD card to your computer: SanDisk Mobile Mate microSD card reader ($13 at Amazon)
• The power supply: CanaKit 5V Raspberry Pi Power supply ($10 at Amazon)
• You'll need this to type: Verbatim Slimline Keyboard ($10 at Amazon)
• For pointing & clicking: Logitech B100 ($10 at Amazon)
• The monitor connector: AmazonBasics HDMI
• For internet hardwire: AmazonBasics Ethernet cable

You'll also need a monitor or TV that accepts either HDMI or composite video input. HDMI works best, but composite video is workable. Many Raspberry Pi projects use an internet connection, so you'll also want a Wi-Fi dongle or ethernet cable.

How to reformat your microSD card

1. Insert your microSD card into the USB card reader.

2. Connect the card reader to your computer.
3. Download SD Formatter 5.0.1.

4. Double-click on Install SD Card Formatter 5.0.1.mpkg in your downloads folder in your Dock to install SD Formatter 5.0.

5. Follow the instructions in the installation window.
6. Click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. It looks like a silver rocket ship.

7. Find the SD Formatter 5.0.1 app.
8. To move between Launchpad windows, click the Next Page icons at the bottom center of the screen, or swipe to the right or left with your trackpad or Magic Mouse.
9. Click on the SD Formatter 5.0.1 app to open it. A formatting window will appear on your desktop.

10. Under Select Card select your microSD card from the dropdown menu.
11. Click Format in the bottom right corner.

When the reformat is complete, you will get a notification window. Select OK to close the window. Your microSD card is now ready to install the operating system to the Raspberry Pi.

How to Download NOOBS onto the microSD card

1. Download the ZIP file of NOOBS Version 3.3.1. It is a large file and will take a while to complete. You will want Raspbian, so do not download NOOBS Lite.

2. Double-click on the NOOBS file from the Downloads folder in your Dock to open it.

3. Select the first file inside the NOOBS folder.
4. Scroll down and Shift + left-click on the last file in the NOOBS folder.
5. Drag and drop all selected NOOBS files into the SD card icon on your desktop. You don't have to open the SD card drive.

6. Right-click on the SD card icon.
7. Select "Eject [SD Card Name]".

8. Remove the card reader from your computer.
9. Remove the microSD card from the card reader.

Now that NOOBS is loaded onto your microSD card, you're ready to set up your Raspberry Pi.

Set up your Raspberry Pi

1. Insert the microSD card into the card slot on the underside of the Raspberry Pi.

2. Plug the USB keyboard into one of the USB ports.
3. Plug the USB mouse into one of the USB portsAlternatively, connect the Bluetooth adapter into one of the USB ports.

4. Turn on your monitor or TV set and make sure it is set to the proper input (e.g. HDMI 1 or Component)
5. Plug the HDMI or video component cable into the monitor or TV set.
6. Connect the other end of the cable into the Raspberry Pi.

7. Connect an ethernet cable to your router if you plan to connect to the Internet.
8. Connect the other end of the cable to your Raspberry Pi.Alternately, connect the Wi-Fi adapter to the Raspberry Pi.

9. Connect the power supply to the Raspberry Pi.
10. Plug the power supply into the power outlet. This will turn on and boot up Raspberry Pi. A power indicator light will begin to glow, letting you know that you are connected.

A start screen should appear on the monitor or TV you're using.

Download the Raspbian operating system on the Raspberry Pi

1. Select Raspbian.
2. Click Install.

3. When the warning window pops up. Click Yes to confirm. This is just letting you know that the microSD card will be overwritten with an uncompressed version of the Raspbian operating system.
4. Wait for the installation process to complete.

Once the installation process is finished, Raspbian will automatically begin to boot.

Configure your Raspberry Pi

1. Click Menu in the upper left corner of the screen.

2. Select Preferences in the dropdown menu.

3. Select Raspberry Pi Configuration under Preferences.

4. When the configuration window appears, click on the Localisation tab.
5. Click on Set Locale… to set your location.
6. Click on Set timezone… to set your local time.
7. Click on Set Keyboard… to set your keyboard language.

8. Reconfiguring your Raspberry Pi will require a reboot. When the reboot window appears, click Yes to continue.

You are set up and ready to start using Raspberry Pi. The mini computing world is your oyster. The only question now is, what project will you build?

What you'll need to get started

Of course to get started with the Raspberry Pi, you'll need to pick from one of the various motherboards available.

The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is the most flexible iterations of the do-it-yourself computer. It includes ports four USB-A ports, an ethernet jack, a microSD card slot, micro-USB for power, HDMI out, as well as connections for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas.

While the Raspberry Pi is obviously the star of the show as far as equipment is concerned, you'll also need a microSD card and reader, a power supply, a keyboard, and a mouse.

SanDisk Ultra 32GB microSD card ($8 at Amazon)

You'll need a micrSD card onto which to install NOOBS, a crucial part of setting up your Pi.

SanDisk Mobile Mate microSD card reader ($13 at Amazon)

You'll need to use a microSD card reader to load NOOBS from your Mac onto your microSD card.

CanaKit 5V 2.5A Raspberry Pi Power Supply ($10 at Amazon)

This micro-USB power supply is just what you'll need to get your Raspberry Pi up and running.

Verbatim Slimline Keyboard ($10 at Amazon)

A basic wireless keyboard that you'll need when you start using your Raspberry Pi.

AmazonBasics HDMI Cable ($7 at Amazon)

To connect your Rasberry Pi to a monitor. A USB-A cable would also work, depending on your monitor's port options.

Logitech B100 ($10 at Amazon)

A standard, cheap USB mouse for your pointing and clicking needs.

AmazonBasics Ethernet Cable ($5 at Amazon)

If you want to connect to the internet using a hardwired link, a basic CAT-6 patch cable will do the trick.

Web ads keep fine enterprises like this very site afloat. But there sure are a lot of them, right? They're not always pretty to look at, they devour bandwidth, and they slow download times for your favorite sites. You can install adblocker software on each individual web-connected device you use. But now there's Pi-hole, a way to automatically block web ads on every device across your entire network, for free.

This open-source app was originally designed for the Raspberry Pi, but you don't need one of those tiny, inexpensive computers to run it. Installation isn't easy, but it's not impossible, either. Let's walk through the steps you'll need to get it Pi-hole up and running.

What is Pi-hole?

Pi-hole sets itself up as a DNS server for your network, routing your requests for addresses to actual DNS servers elsewhere on the Internet. In the simplest terms, DNS servers are the phone books of the web, matching the domain name you type in to browse to a site with the matching IP number that'll actually get you there.

As your computer pulls in those sites, their data passes through Pi-hole. Thanks to its extensive blocklist of ad providers, Pi-hole plucks out all the incoming ads and punts them down its own sort of black hole. By the time a site reaches your screen, it's ad-free, and without ads' often snoopy and intrusive code, it'll load a whole lot faster.

Pi-hole blocks all kinds of ads across all kinds of devices, including video ads (that sound you hear is Hulu gently weeping) and smart TV apps.

Lest you get too excited, please remember that Pi-hole was written by Linux programmers, whose warm, generous community spirit is matched only by their apparent fondness for creating programs that require a computer science degree to set up and use.

If anything, it's easier to set up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi than on a Mac; there, a single terminal command will kick off the installation process. To make your Mac run Pi-hole, you'll need to follow a few more steps than that.

What you need to run Pi-hole on your Mac

• An always-on Mac that's connected to your network, running Mac OS Sierra or later, with at least 4GB of RAM.
• A wired or wireless router that you can configure.
• Docker, a free and friendly app that lets your Mac run containerized software — prebuilt, self-contained packages of code designed to run on any Docker-enabled system. We've got a simple guide for how to run Docker on your Mac.
• Kitematic, an easy-to-use graphical interface for managing Docker packages. You can install it through the Docker app; check out the instructions above for details.

How to install Pi-hole on a Mac

If you're nervous about UNIX commands, steel yourself: We'll be using Terminal a lot. But nothing you type into Terminal here will remotely endanger your machine. Mostly we'll just be asking it to tell us stuff we need to know. Otherwise, we'll be entering Docker commands. And if you mess up with Docker, you can just delete the container and start again – no harm, no foul.

Before you start installing software, you'll need to check and adjust a few things on your Mac. Take a deep breath. Ready? Here we go.

Every device on your network, even one connected via Wi-Fi, has an IP address. This isn't a great metaphor, but if your router's the big-box store where you go to get The Internet, your device's IP address is its designated space in the parking lot outside.

Most routers use a technology called DHCP to hand out IP addresses to the devices that connect to them — kind of like being able to park in any free space in the lot. As devices disconnect or reconnect, they give up their IP addresses and get handed new ones.

But the Mac on which you'll be running Pi-hole needs to park in the same spot every time so that your network always knows where to find it. You need to give this Mac a static IP address.

Open Terminal and type in this command:

arp -a

Terminal will spit out a list of information about every device connected to your network, including IP addresses, which will appear in (parentheses). IP addresses come in blocks of four numbers separated by periods. On my network, they look like:

10.0.1.x

… where the "x" changes depending on the device. Your numbers might look different, but they should follow the same pattern: The first three numbers are always the same, and the last one changes.

Write down those addresses, then pick a number that isn't being used. (So if your devices have IP addresses of 10.0.1.1, 10.0.1.2, and 10.0.1.4, you could use 10.0.1.3, or 10.0.1.5, or 10.0.1.20, or any final number that wasn't 1, 2, or 4.) That'll be your static IP.

You can reserve this IP one of two ways: on your Mac, or on your router. Either one will work, and you don't need to do both.

To set a static IP directly on your Mac, open System Preferences > Network. Select the kind of connection you're using from the list at left — probably Ethernet for a wired network, or Wi-Fi for a wireless one. Then click the Advanced… button in the lower right.

Now click the TCP/IP tab in the pane that appears. Write down the numbers next to Subnet Mask and Router — you'll need them in a second. Then change the Configure IPv4 dropdown menu from "Using DHCP" to Manually.

Enter your new static IP address in the IPv4 Address box, and restore the Subnet Mask and Router addresses to their respective boxes. Then click OK, and when you get back to the main Network pane in System Preferences, click Apply to make the changes. Voila! You've got your very own static IP address.

To create a static IP address through your router, check your router's instructions on how to set DHCP reservations. You'll probably need your computer's MAC address, a different set of numbers that identify it on the network. You can find that under System Preferences > Network > Advanced… > Hardware. (It'll be where the red box is in the image below.)

If you're using AirPort, setting a DHCP reservation is fairly easy. Open AirPort Utility, select your main base station, and click Edit. In the screen that appears, click the Network tab and look for DHCP Reservations. Click the little + button to add a new one.

Give your Mac a name in the Description box, make sure you're reserving your address by MAC address, then paste the MAC address into the designated box. In the IPv4 Address box, either paste your preferred static IP or use the one AirPort assigns you. (It won't give you one that's already in use.) Either way, remember that static IP address, because you'll need it later.

Click Save, then click Update to make the changes and reboot your router.

Again, if you don't have an AirPort router, but you want to use this method, you probably still can. Just check your router's instruction manual.

Keep your static IP address handy! You're going to use it twice more before you're done: once when setting up Pi-hole, and again to tell your router which DNS server to use.

Pi-hole will need to use ports 53, 80, and 443 on your network. That shouldn't be a problem even with Mac OS X's Firewall turned on, but there's a tiny, highly unlikely chance that another application might be using those ports.

Just to be safe, open Network Utility and select Port Scan. Where you're asked to enter an address to scan for open ports, enter localhost. Check the box next to Only test ports between and specify a range of 53 to 443. (No point scanning ones you're not interested in, right?) Then click the Scan button. If ports 53, 80, and 443 don't appear in the list, you're good to go.

Visit our instructions for how to run Docker on a Mac, then come back here.

Is Docker running? Got Kitematic installed? Excellent! Let's do this thing.

Open Terminal again. We're going to tell Docker to download the Pi-hole container and get it ready for us. Enter this command:

docker pull pihole/pihole

Now we'll give Docker instructions on how we want to get Pi-hole running. Copy this command into a text editor, not the Terminal, because you'll need to customize a few parts first:

docker run -d --name pihole -e ServerIP=your_IP_here -e TZ=time_zone_here -e WEBPASSWORD=Password -e DNS1=1.1.1.1 -e DNS2=1.0.0.1 -p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 -v ~/pihole/:/etc/pihole/ --dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1 --cap-add=NET_ADMIN --restart=unless-stopped pihole/pihole:latest

(This command was adapted from Redditor dudutwizer's instructions, with a few added pieces recommended by the official Pi-hole for Docker setup guide.)

Phew. That's a lot, right? Let's quickly review a few key parts of that magnificent word salad up there:

-e ServerIP=your_IP_here

Replace "your_IP_here" with the static IP address you gave your Mac back in step 1. Pi-hole needs to know where to find your server.

-e TZ=time_zone_here

Replace time_zone_here with your time zone from this list. You'll want to use the TZ database name -- so, for example, if you're in Eastern Standard time, you'd use America/New_York.

-e WEBPASSWORD=Password

Pi-hole's Web-based admin panel needs a password before it'll let you adjust settings. It generates a random password during installation, but it, uh, doesn't tell you what that password is. (At least, not on a Mac, using Docker, in Terminal.)

You can find that random password by looking through the Pi-hole container's logs using Kitematic, but who has time for that? Replace Password above with a password of your choosing to set your own password right away.

Even if you add this step, Pi-hole still might not acknowledge that you've changed your password. It happened to me. A lot. If that happens to you, don't worry. We'll fix it later in one easy step.

--dns=127.0.0.1 --dns=1.1.1.1

The first of these numbers always has to be 127.0.0.1 — which is computer-speak for "the same machine this program is running on," also known as "localhost." But the second number's a backup, and it can point to any DNS server you choose. I used Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 server, which claims to find addresses faster than the competition without selling your data to advertisers. But if you've got a particular favorite, sub it in here.

--restart=unless-stopped

This tells Pi-hole to always start up automatically whenever Docker opens — say, if your Mac crashes and needs to reboot – unless or until you say otherwise.

Once you've customized that mighty slab o' code with your static IP and preferred password, copy and paste the whole command back into Terminal and run it.

Wait a minute or two while Pi-hole gets moving, then use this command to make sure everything's kosher:

docker ps -a

It'll spit out information about Pi-hole and how it's running. If you see the word "healthy" in there, you're good. If you see "unhealthy," something went wrong. You probably won't see that, but if you do, that's okay! Use Kitematic to delete Pi-hole's container, then try these instructions again from the beginning of this step.

Now that Pi-hole's running on your Mac, you need to tell your wireless router to use that Mac as its DNS server. That will ensure that every device connected to your router enjoys Pi-hole's ad-blocking goodness.

You'll need to replace whatever DNS server numbers your router has with the static IP address for your Mac that you set back in step 1. And while most routers have room to enter more than one DNS server, that static IP address needs to be the only DNS server your router uses. Otherwise, you'll still see web ads.

Setting your router's DNS info shouldn't be too hard — you'll basically just type numbers in the correct box, then click a button. Check your instructions for details.

If you have an AirPort router, the process is quick and painless. Open AirPort Utility again, select your base station, then click Edit. Under the Internet tab, find the boxes for DNS Servers. Clear them out, and paste your Mac's static IP address in the first box. Leave the second box blank. Then click Update and let your router reset.

Once your router resets, any device that connects to it should be able to browse the Web ad-free. If Pi-hole's running fine, but a given device still shows you ads, you might have manually set its DNS servers at some previous point. To fix this…

• On a Mac: Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > DNS, and make sure you have nothing entered in the DNS Servers box. (Grayed-out text is fine — that means you're getting your DNS information from your router.) If this isn't the problem, go to the TCP/IP tab, and click the Renew DHCP Lease button, which might nudge your Mac to recognize the new DNS servers.
• On iOS: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and click the "i" icon to the right of your selected wireless network. Scroll down to Configure DNS and make sure it's set to Automatic. If not, tap it, select "Automatic," then tap "Save." To renew the DHCP lease, go back to the information screen about your wireless network, and find and tap Renew Lease.

You'll find Pi-hole's admin page by visiting http://pi.hole/admin in your browser of choice. It can take a few minutes after you've updated your router for that address to work, so don't fret if it doesn't come up right away.

To fully explore Pi-hole's abilities, you'll need to log in. Click "Login" on the left side of the screen:

Enter the password you specified when you set up Pi-hole. Like I said, it might not work; it often didn't for me. Luckily, you can change the password for good by opening Terminal and entering this command:

docker exec -it pihole pihole -a -p your_password_here

… where your_password_here is the password you want. Terminal will confirm that your password's changed, and you're all set.

Feel free to explore Pi-hole's different settings. If you mess something up beyond repair, you can always delete the container and start again from step 4. You shouldn't need to muck with any of these settings to enjoy ad-free browsing, though.

A quick caveat (and a way to fix it)

Like any black hole, Pi-hole can behave in baffling and unpredictable ways. After I first set it up, it would stop working unexpectedly after 24 hours or so, leaving every device on my network unable to connect to the Web until I got it restarted. That didn't seem to be Docker's fault; it could have been some glitch in Pi-hole, or possibly something wrong with my router.

If that happens to you, try this fix that worked for me, suggested by the intrepid Dr. Drang. Basically, you want to make sure that the static IP your server uses isn't within the range of IP addresses your router's handing out.

1. Look for your router's DHCP range, the number of different "parking spaces" it makes available on your router via DHCP. (With AirPort, you can see this under the Network tab when you configure a base station, and edit it by clicking the Network Options button at the bottom of the tab.) Most of the routers I've seen have a range from 2 to 200, meaning they can hand out nearly 200 spots on the router to different devices in your home that want to connect.
2. Use arp -a in the Terminal one more time to double-check the IP addresses on your network. Since you probably won't have 199 different devices connected to your router, look for the highest IP number that ends with something less than 200. You may see some IP numbers higher than 200, but don't worry about those.
3. Pick a new static IP number that's not already in use, is higher than the highest current IP number less than 200, and leaves some growing room for you to add more devices to your router in the future. For me, that was 50, but feel free to adjust that based on your own setup and networking needs.
4. Using that new number, set your server's static IP directly on the Mac itself, not on the router, via System Preferences > Network, following the instructions in Step 1 above. If you used your router to give your server an IP reservation, turn that off.
5. On your router, edit the DHCP range to end at one less than the new IP address you've chosen – so, if you chose 50, the DHCP range would end at 49. Then change the DNS server on your router to match that new IP address. Don't update or reboot the router yet.
6. Point Pi-hole to your server's IP address. You can do this by deleting the container and re-running the installation instructions in Step 4 with the new server IP address, but there's an easier way. Open Kitematic and select the pihole container from the list of running containers on the left. When Kitematic brings up its logs, look for the "Settings" tab over on the right side of the screen. Under Settings, you'll see a list of many of the same variables you used when setting up Pi-hole. Find ServerIP, change the number next to it to your new IP address, then click the Save button at the bottom of the list of variables. Once it's saved, Kitematic will restart Pi-hole to make the new variable take effect, and you can close Kitematic.
7. Now reboot your router. When the new DHCP range and DNS server take effect, Pi-hole should be up and running, with no unexpected outages ahead.

Troubleshooting aside, for an hour or less of minor inconvenience you can free every device in your household from the aggravation of Web ads. If you're feeling grateful, maybe make sure to whitelist iMore.com (and your other favorite sites) in Pi-hole's admin panel, okay? Our servers, alas, won't pay for themselves.