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I've transferred a domain to Godaddy, keeping the custom nameservers, as I didn't want to change anything.

I'll probably need to edit A and CNAME records soon but I can't, as it says "The zone file is unavailable because the domain's set nameservers do not belong to this registrar.".

So, I need to set the nameservers to Standard "Go Daddy hosting, forwarding, and parked domains." before I can edit these settings.

If I change the nameservers in GoDaddy and immediately after edit the zone to match the current records (A and CNAME), will there be any downtime? I've contacted them but had different answers.

Dave M
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ricardofiel
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    Why would you transfer ***to*** GoDaddy? – Tom O'Connor Jan 31 '14 at 10:38
  • If you want to keep your current custom name servers running, you probably don't have anything more to change (providing us with domain name would help to dig deeper) – Dusan Bajic Jan 31 '14 at 10:42
  • I have all my other domains there, so I don't want this one managed by a 3rd party. – ricardofiel Jan 31 '14 at 14:24
  • I can't say the domain name for NDA reasons with the client, but I don't want the current nameservers, because I can't edit anything there. That's the need for having the zone transfer. – ricardofiel Jan 31 '14 at 14:26
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    If you're downtime sensitive, GoDaddy isn't the place for you. You've **already** found a shitty "feature" that's screwing you over from square one. – ceejayoz Jan 31 '14 at 15:04
  • Thanks. What are good alternatives to GoDaddy? – ricardofiel Feb 01 '14 at 21:45
  • For registration? I like Hover and Namecheap. For DNS? I like Amazon's Route53. For hosting? Any reputable cloud/VPS host would be my choice - Amazon, Rackspace, Linode, etc. – ceejayoz Feb 03 '14 at 16:24
  • +1 to namecheap, great support and they're also constantly improving. They had a TERRIBLE UI/UX and like overnight it got prettier. – Michael Bailey Jul 09 '15 at 01:30

2 Answers2

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yes - there will be some downtime during the period of time that the name servers are switched to godaddy and the time you set the zone file, the domain will bring up a generic godaddy landing page. The downtime will probably be brief, only 15-30 minutes, but could be longer. I've found godaddy telephone support to be helpful if a situation arises where something is "stuck", but I also know they've gone through some changes and there's no guarantee you won't go into a 24 hour holding pattern.

To switch them without downtime I'd recommend going with a 3rd party like Dyn or DnsMadeEasy. Set up your settings there first, then after your settings are already in place, change the nameservers with the registrar. You won't have any downtime, and you won't be stuck if you decide to change registrars later.

user16081-JoeT
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    So you can not configure godaddy DNS servers before the move got into effect? are they THAT crappy? Because if you can there must be NO downtime. – TomTom Feb 03 '14 at 16:22
  • To my knowledge you cannot configure them unless / until they are authoritative, but I don't work there and maybe they've changed things; perhaps paying for premium makes all the difference? – user16081-JoeT Feb 03 '14 at 16:34
  • Ok, so we did the switch and there was no downtime, but it's not guaranteed to be this way. We were lucky. Once the NS were set for GoDaddy ones, it took about 5 minutes for the zone file to be available. This was the first time I had to do something with GoDaddy other than just registering a domain and it's a painful experience. Better start thinking about Dyn. – ricardofiel Feb 05 '14 at 09:59
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I am running into same situation. While searching around for solution, I found GoDaddy support article, https://support.godaddy.com/help/article/4041/managing-domain-names-with-off-site-dns, which mention 'adding Off-site DNS for the domain name prior to initiating the transfer'. Not sure how it works. Did anyone used the Off-site DNS?

Tiger peng
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  • Just called GoDaddy Support again, the off-site DNS is not useful for me as the domain is already in GoDaddy. I was suggested to use DNS template to reduce the zone file editing time. Possible I will use one of the my idle domain names to create the template. – Tiger peng Jul 08 '15 at 22:36