Network-level ad blocking for Samsung, LG, Fire TV, Roku, and Apple TV — protect the biggest screen in your home.
Smart TVs have become the centerpiece of modern living rooms, but they come with a frustrating side effect: advertising. Samsung shows ads on its home screen. LG displays promotions in its content recommendations. Fire TV inserts sponsored content at every turn. Roku has an entire advertising ecosystem built into the platform. Even Apple TV, which positions itself as premium, serves ads in Apple TV+ and the TV app.
Unlike phones and computers, Smart TVs do not have app stores full of ad blockers you can install. You cannot install browser extensions on a TV. You cannot edit a hosts file. Smart TV operating systems are locked down and give users almost no control over what network connections the TV makes.
But there is a powerful solution: network-level DNS blocking. By changing the DNS settings on your TV or your router, you can intercept ad-serving domain lookups before the TV can load advertisements. This works because Smart TV ads are served from specific domains — and if those domains resolve to nothing, the ads simply do not appear.
This guide covers DNS-based ad blocking for every major Smart TV platform, including step-by-step instructions for configuring DNS on the TV itself and on your router. We also cover Pi-hole and AdGuard Home setups for users who want the most comprehensive solution.
The fastest method: change your router’s DNS to an ad-blocking provider (like AdGuard DNS: 94.140.14.14). This blocks ads on your Smart TV and every other device on your network simultaneously.
Smart TV advertising is delivered through several mechanisms:
Samsung, LG, and Fire TV display banner ads and sponsored content tiles on their home screens. These are fetched from ad servers when the TV connects to the internet. They are DNS-blockable because they load from specific ad-serving domains.
Many TVs insert “recommended” content that is actually paid placement. These appear in content discovery sections and are typically loaded from the TV manufacturer’s ad platform.
Ads within streaming apps (free tiers of Peacock, Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku Channel) are served from ad networks specific to each app. DNS blocking can reduce these, but some services use the same CDN domains for both ads and content.
Samsung (Samba TV), LG (LivePlus), and Roku use ACR technology to monitor what you watch — even on external inputs like game consoles and cable boxes. This data is used for targeted advertising. Disabling ACR is covered in each platform-specific section below.
DNS-based ad blocking is the universal solution for Smart TVs. When the TV tries to resolve an ad-serving domain, the DNS server returns a blocked response, and the ad fails to load.
You have two options:
| Provider | Primary DNS | Secondary DNS | Ad Blocking |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard DNS | 94.140.14.14 | 94.140.15.15 | ✅ Ads + Trackers |
| NextDNS | Custom (from account) | Custom | ✅ Customizable |
| Mullvad DNS | 194.242.2.3 | 194.242.2.4 | ✅ Ads + Trackers |
| Cloudflare Family | 1.1.1.3 | 1.0.0.3 | ⚠️ Malware only |
| Quad9 | 9.9.9.9 | 149.112.112.112 | ⚠️ Malware only |
The most effective method is changing DNS at the router level. This ensures your Smart TV uses the ad-blocking DNS even if the TV’s own DNS settings are overridden by the manufacturer.
Open a browser and navigate to your router’s admin page (typically 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1). Log in with your admin credentials.
Look for DNS settings under WAN, Internet, or Network Configuration. The exact location varies by router brand.
Change the primary DNS to 94.140.14.14 (AdGuard) and secondary to 94.140.15.15. Save and apply changes.
Restart your router and Smart TV. The TV will pick up the new DNS settings from DHCP automatically.
Some Smart TVs (especially Samsung) ignore router DNS and hardcode Google DNS (8.8.8.8). If ads still appear after changing router DNS, you may need to block Google DNS at the router firewall level and force all DNS traffic through your ad-blocking DNS. Pi-hole can handle this automatically.
Samsung TVs are among the most aggressive when it comes to advertising, displaying banner ads on the home screen and collecting viewing data through Samba TV / ACR technology.
Navigate to Settings › General › Network › Network Status › IP Settings.
Change DNS Setting from “Get Automatically” to “Enter Manually.” Enter 94.140.14.14 as the DNS server.
Go to Settings › General › Privacy › Smart Features › Internet-based Advertising and disable it. Also disable “Viewing Information Services” (Samba TV/ACR).
Navigate to Settings › All Settings › Network › Wi-Fi Connection › Advanced Wi-Fi Settings.
Uncheck “Set Automatically” and enter DNS server 94.140.14.14.
Go to Settings › All Settings › General › System › Additional Settings › Live Plus and turn it off. Also disable “Viewing Information” under privacy settings to stop ACR tracking.
Amazon Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube display sponsored content and banner ads prominently on the home screen. DNS blocking significantly reduces them.
Navigate to Settings › Network. Highlight your Wi-Fi network and press the menu button on your remote.
Select “Advanced” and change IP configuration to “Static.” Keep your current IP, gateway, and subnet. Change DNS 1 to 94.140.14.14 and DNS 2 to 94.140.15.15.
Go to Settings › Preferences › Privacy Settings and turn off “Interest-based Ads” and “Device Usage Data.”
Roku is heavily ad-supported and has limited DNS configuration options. The best approach is router-level DNS blocking.
Since Roku does not allow custom DNS, configure ad-blocking DNS on your router (see Router DNS Configuration above).
On the Roku device, go to Settings › Privacy › Advertising and enable “Limit Ad Tracking.”
For advanced users: add Roku ad domains to your Pi-hole blocklist. Common domains include scribe.logs.roku.com and cooper.logs.roku.com.
Apple TV is the least ad-intrusive Smart TV platform, but it still serves ads in the TV app and within Apple TV+ content recommendations.
Navigate to Settings › Network › Wi-Fi › Your Network.
Select “Configure DNS” {AR} “Manual.” Enter 94.140.14.14 as the DNS server.
Go to Settings › General › Privacy › Apple Advertising and turn off “Personalized Ads.”
For the most comprehensive Smart TV ad blocking, deploy Pi-hole or AdGuard Home on your local network. These run as DNS servers on a Raspberry Pi, old laptop, or Docker container, intercepting all DNS queries from every device on your network.
# One-command Pi-hole installation
curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash
# After installation, access the admin panel at:
# http://[PI-HOLE-IP]/admin
# Point your router DHCP DNS to the Pi-hole IP
# All devices on your network will be protectedPi-hole is particularly effective for Smart TVs because it can block domains that the TV hardcodes by intercepting queries at the network level. It also provides detailed logs showing every domain your TV contacts.
| Platform | Home Screen Ads | Custom DNS | ACR Tracking | Blocking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung TV | Heavy | ✅ Yes | Samba TV | Medium |
| LG TV | Moderate | ✅ Yes | LivePlus | Easy |
| Fire TV | Heavy | ✅ Yes (Static IP) | Amazon | Medium |
| Roku | Heavy | ❌ Router only | Roku ACR | Hard |
| Apple TV | Minimal | ✅ Yes | Minimal | Easy |
You can eliminate the vast majority using DNS blocking. However, some ads (particularly Fire TV home screen sponsored content and Roku screensaver ads) are served from core platform domains that cannot be blocked without breaking other functionality. DNS blocking typically removes 70–90% of Smart TV ads.
Reputable DNS providers (AdGuard, NextDNS) are carefully maintained to avoid blocking essential streaming domains. Occasionally a false positive may occur — if an app stops working, check the DNS provider’s logs and whitelist the affected domain.
Yes, if you care about privacy and ad blocking. Pi-hole protects every device on your network, not just the TV. Most users find it pays for itself in improved experience within a week. If Pi-hole feels too complex, simply changing DNS on your router provides 80% of the benefit with 10% of the effort.
If you use encrypted DNS (DNS over HTTPS or TLS), the TV manufacturer cannot see your DNS queries. However, if the TV hardcodes specific DNS servers (like 8.8.8.8), it may attempt to bypass your ad-blocking DNS. Router firewall rules that redirect all DNS traffic through your chosen server prevent this bypass.