Network Wide Ad Blocking at Its Best with Channel Bonding Capabilities
A Pi-hole alternative that blocks ads across your whole network and also gives faster internet is Speedify running on a Raspberry Pi. Speedify is an app that combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite internet connections into one faster, more reliable connection, and its ad-blocking DNS removes most ads for every device connected through it.
Here is how a Speedify-powered setup compares to a Pi-hole.
Speedify makes your internet faster without a new plan or new hardware
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What Speedify Does: Combined Internet, Encryption and Ad Blocking
Speedify is an app that encrypts your traffic like a VPN and offers a DNS-based ad blocker. Most importantly, it lets you combine multiple internet connections at once into one faster, more reliable connection.
You can combine your home internet connection (cable, DSL or Starlink) with a public Wi-Fi hotspot at a nearby restaurant or cafe, a second plan from your ISP, or your phone’s 4G/5G cellular plan if you have plenty of data. Combine as many connections as you have.
But how does this cover your whole network?
You can set up Speedify on a Raspberry Pi, a small computer that costs about $30 (a bit more with accessories). The Raspberry Pi runs Linux, so you can install Speedify on it and use it as a router. Speedify on Linux needs a paid plan: there is no free tier on Linux.
The SpeediPi: A Pi-hole Alternative That Combines Internet Connections
Requirements:
- Raspberry Pi (a Pi 3 or Pi 4 is recommended)
- Router
- Speedify, installed on the Pi
- Optional: USB dongles for Wi-Fi or cellular, to be able to combine connections.
In an example setup, a Raspberry Pi 4 running Speedify connects to the home router over Ethernet (a LAN port). The Pi, nicknamed the “SpeediPi”, broadcasts its own Wi-Fi network, and every device in the home connects to it.
Along with the home connection from the router, the Pi connects to a nearby restaurant’s Wi-Fi through a USB Wi-Fi dongle. Speedify combines the two 20 Mbps connections, and the home network gets a steady 36 Mbps.
Speedify’s DNS is set to Ad Blocking DNS, which removes most of the ads that would otherwise pop up across the web.
Speedify also encrypts the traffic with AES or ChaCha encryption, so hackers on the restaurant’s Wi-Fi cannot intercept it and steal sensitive information.
How the SpeediPi Works Day to Day: Ads, Netflix and Big Downloads
Here is how the setup works in daily use:
- Browsing: a phone connected to the SpeediPi Wi-Fi network shows far fewer ads on the web.
- Streaming: the TV is on the SpeediPi Wi-Fi network too. Netflix blocks many VPNs, so Speedify’s streaming bypass sends Netflix and other streaming services around the encrypted connection, with no action needed on your part.
- Downloads: a new 100 GB game downloads on the desktop computer at almost double the speed of the home connection alone, because Speedify uses both connections at once.
Failover: when contractors working in the building cut the internet for every home on the same ISP for hours, this setup stayed online over the restaurant’s Wi-Fi. Speedify moved all traffic to that connection until the ISP connection came back, so a scheduled business call went ahead. That is Speedify’s failover protection.
SpeediPi vs. Pi-hole: Ad Blocking Plus Faster, More Reliable Internet
A Pi-hole blocks ads and lets you manage your own blocklists, but it does nothing for speed or dropouts. The SpeediPi blocks most ads through Speedify’s ad-blocking DNS and also combines your internet connections for faster downloads, keeps you online when one connection drops, and encrypts your traffic.
To try it, buy Speedify directly from speedify.com and you get a 30-day money-back guarantee. On Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, you can also start with the free tier: 5 GB per month with a free account. Try it on your phone to combine Wi-Fi and 4G/5G cellular and see the combined speed for yourself. Download Speedify to get started.
To replicate this setup, you are not limited to a Raspberry Pi: Speedify runs on Ubuntu, and other Debian based distros should work too.
Detailed instructions on installing and setting up Speedify are available here. In particular, the installation instructions are here. The sharing configuration settings are here.
If you would like to read more about Speedify and Raspberry Pi, check out this blog post.
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Speedify combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite into one faster, more reliable internet connection. Free to try: 5 GB a month with a free account. No credit card required.
🚀 Speed
Faster uploads and downloads, because Speedify uses all your internet connections at once.
📶 Stability
If one internet connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the others in milliseconds.
🔒 Security
AES-256 encryption on every internet connection, on any network you join.
15M+ downloads worldwide. 75K+ five-star reviews on iOS and Android.