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Avaloi

Domain is not resolving

Use Check DNS to find the wrong record, understand prepare first and the 72-hour window, and fix nameservers and DNSSEC for a Cloudflare DNS zone.

You added a domain on the Domains tab, but visitors still see the old host, an error page, or a certificate warning. Domain setup rests on three DNS records, on the setup mode you chose, and on how long the internet takes to notice a change. The checks below find the cause in that order.

What you see

  • The domain still shows the old site, or nothing at all.
  • The browser warns about the certificate, or HTTPS fails while HTTP works.
  • The Domains tab shows the domain as pending long after you changed DNS.
  • Check DNS reports a record as wrong, and you believe you set it.
  • www works but the bare domain does not, or the other way round.

Check these first

  1. Run Check DNS. Open the site, then Domains, open the domain, and choose Check DNS. Avaloi queries the resolver now and names the exact record that is wrong: the CNAME, the ownership TXT record, or the certificate TXT record. It changes nothing. The API call is POST /v1/domains/{id}/verify.
  2. Compare the three records. When your DNS is hosted elsewhere, the tab shows a CNAME to sites.avaloi.com and two TXT records, and GET /v1/domains/{id}/verification-records returns the same with the last check. Copy each name and value from the tab rather than typing it. Many DNS editors add your domain to the end of the name field on their own, so a name ends up with the domain twice.
  3. Know which setup mode you chose. In prepare first mode you add only the TXT records. The certificate issues while the site still runs at the old host, and nothing moves until you change the CNAME. That is the cutover. If the site did not switch, the CNAME still points at the old host, as designed. Change the mode with PATCH /v1/domains/{id}.
  4. Give it time. Avaloi waits up to 72 hours for the records. Resolvers around the world keep the old answer until its time to live runs out, so a check that fails right after you saved can pass an hour later. Run Check DNS again rather than changing records that are already right. If the 72 hours pass with the records wrong, fix them and run Check DNS again; if the domain no longer attaches, remove it and add it again.
  5. Is your Cloudflare DNS zone active? If the domain's DNS is on Cloudflare DNS, Avaloi writes the records itself, but the zone serves nothing until the registrar points at it. Open DNS, open the zone, and choose Check activation. The check tells you which nameserver to add or remove at your registrar, and activates the zone when both match. The API call is POST /v1/dns/zones/{id}/activation-check.
  6. Check DNSSEC at the registrar. If you moved the domain to Cloudflare DNS from a host that had DNSSEC on, remove that host's DS record at the registrar. A DS record that does not match the zone makes resolvers refuse every answer for the domain.
  7. Check each hostname on its own. Include www adds the bare domain and the www name as two domains, each with its own records and its own check. A wildcard covers one label, such as *.shop.example, and not deeper names.
  8. Check the redirects. If the domain resolves but lands somewhere you did not expect, remember that making a domain primary adds a 301 from the old primary, and Force HTTPS can send every hostname to the primary. Open Redirects and use the tester to see every hop for the URL.

Fix it

  • Correct the record that Check DNS named, wait, and check again. The attach job finishes on its own once the records match.
  • To go live from prepare first, change the CNAME at your DNS host to sites.avaloi.com. The certificate is already issued, so there is no gap.
  • To activate a Cloudflare DNS zone, set the two nameservers shown on the zone at your registrar, remove any others, and run Check activation.
  • To fix a DNSSEC problem, remove the old host's DS record at your registrar while you sort it out.
  • Once the domain is live, make it primary from its menu. Avaloi rewrites the WordPress home and site URLs, adds a 301 from the old primary, and purges both caches.

Still stuck

Write to [email protected] with the site name, the environment, the request ID from the API response or the job ID, and what you tried. Add the domain, the record Check DNS named, and the time you changed DNS.

Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with your site name and what you tried, or send us a message.