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How to Build a Tiny DNS Sinkhole with W5500 on XIAO ESP32-S3?

This project replaces a Raspberry Pi 3B running Pi-hole with a compact DNS sinkhole built from a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 and a WIZnet WIZ850io

viktor

Published July 23, 2026

168 UCC

20 WCC

42 VAR

Original author: jmcallahanOriginal source (new tab)

How to Build a Tiny DNS Sinkhole with W5500 on XIAO ESP32-S3?

Components

Hardware components
WIZ850io

WIZnet - WIZ850io

x 1

Project description

Summary This project replaces a Raspberry Pi 3B running Pi-hole with a compact DNS sinkhole built from a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 and a WIZnet WIZ850io module containing the W5500 Ethernet controller. The ESP32-S3 processes DNS requests and searches the blocklist, while the W5500 provides the wired network connection needed to keep the DNS service independent of Wi-Fi reliability. What the Project Does The project runs a network-wide DNS filtering service on a small ESP32-S3 board. Devices on the network are configured to use the sinkhole’s IPv4 address as their DNS server. Every…

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