Setup guide · Network-wide
How to block ads on your router
Set Seawall on your router once, and it works as a network-wide ad blocker: every device on your Wi-Fi is covered, including smart TVs, game consoles and smart speakers.
In short
Open your router’s settings at 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, find the DNS settings and replace them with the two Seawall addresses. Then link your home network in your account.
- Router settings
- Internet or WAN
- DNS
Set up a network-wide ad blocker
You need access to your router’s settings. If it belongs to your internet provider and is locked, see the tips below.
Get your Seawall DNS addresses
Sign in to your Seawall account, click Add device and choose Router. You’ll see two DNS addresses there.
Seawall DNS addresses
192.0.2.53198.51.100.53These are examples. Yours appear in your account after you sign up, next to the button that links your home network. Get yours
Link your home network
On a phone or computer connected to your Wi-Fi, click Link this network in your account. Router DNS can’t carry your personal address, so Seawall recognizes your home by its IP address.
Open your router’s settings
Type 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 into a browser on a device connected to your Wi-Fi. The address and password are usually on a sticker on the router. Some routers are set up in their own app instead.
Enter the Seawall addresses
Find the DNS settings, often under Internet, WAN or DHCP. Choose to set DNS servers manually and enter both Seawall addresses.
Save and reconnect
Save the settings. Devices pick up the new DNS when they reconnect: turn Wi-Fi off and on, or restart the router.
Check that it works
Open the ad blocker test on a phone and on a computer at home. All 24 addresses should show “blocked”.
Run the ad blocker test
Where DNS settings are on popular routers
Menu names change between models and firmware versions. Look for words like DNS, WAN, Internet or DHCP.
| Router | Where DNS is |
|---|---|
| ASUS |
|
| TP-Link |
|
| Netgear |
|
| Linksys |
|
| Google Nest Wifi |
|
| eero |
|
Some routers from internet providers don’t let you change DNS. Then set Seawall on each device, or connect your own router to the provider’s one.
If something doesn’t work
Some devices still show ads
They use their own DNS: Private DNS on Android, a profile on iPhone or Mac, or secure DNS in a browser. Set Seawall on those devices too, or turn their own DNS off.
Ads came back after a while
Your internet provider changed your home IP address. Use the update link in your account to link the network again.
The router doesn’t let you change DNS
Many routers from internet providers lock this setting. Set Seawall on each device instead, or connect your own router to the provider’s one.
Devices get DNS over IPv6
If your network has IPv6, the router may hand out your provider’s IPv6 DNS. Enter the Seawall IPv6 addresses from your account in the router’s IPv6 settings.
Ads in YouTube, Facebook or Instagram
These apps serve ads from the same servers as their videos and posts, so DNS can’t tell them apart. Seawall blocks the ad networks that other apps, games and websites use.
A site or app stopped working
Add it to your allow list in your Seawall account or pause protection for 10 minutes.
Router ad blocking questions
What is a network-wide ad blocker?
An ad blocker that works for your whole home network instead of one device. Seawall does it through your router’s DNS, so devices you don’t set up one by one, like smart TVs and consoles, are covered too. There’s no extra hardware to run at home.
Which devices does a router setup cover?
Every device on your Wi-Fi and cable network: phones, computers, smart TVs, game consoles, smart speakers and your guests’ devices. Devices that use their own DNS skip it.
Does it work outside my home?
No. A router setup covers only devices on your home network. For phones and laptops that leave home, set Seawall on the device too.
Why do I need to link my network?
Router DNS can’t carry your personal address, so Seawall recognizes your home network by its IP address. Linking tells Seawall which network is yours and which rules to use.
Can my kids’ devices have different rules?
Yes. Set their devices up with their own profile from your account, and their rules apply at home and everywhere else.
How do I undo it?
Set the router’s DNS back to automatic and save. To let everything through for a moment instead, pause protection for 10 minutes in your account.
Set up your other devices
Get your Seawall addresses
Then follow the steps above. It takes about five minutes.