FAQ about domain names

You can transfer only domain names that are registered with Alibaba Cloud across accounts in the Domains console. The DNS records added for a domain name are not deleted and still take effect after you transfer the domain name from one account to another account. The following section describes two scenarios for domain name transfer:

• If you transfer a domain name that is bound to a paid instance of Public Authoritative DNS Resolution to another account, the DNS records are not transferred along with the domain name to the destination account and the DNS resolution works as expected. You can add a domain name to retrieve the DNS records added for the domain name in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console by using the destination account. For more information, see 4. Retrieve DNS records.

• If you transfer a domain name that is bound to a free instance of Public Authoritative DNS Resolution to another account, the DNS records are transferred along with the domain name to the destination account, and still take effect for the domain name.

Domain names not registered with Alibaba Cloud refers to the domain names that are registered with a third-party domain name registrar. In the Alibaba Cloud DNS console, there are two situations regarding whether it can be transferred to another account in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console:

• If a domain name has not been transferred to Alibaba Cloud DNS: If a domain name that is registered with a third-party domain name registrar has not been transferred to the Alibaba Cloud, you cannot transfer the domain name to another account in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. In this case, you can add DNS records for such a domain name in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. For more information, see How do I configure DNS settings for a domain name that is registered with a third-party DNS service provider?

• If a domain name has been transferred to Alibaba Cloud DNS: If a domain name registered with a third-party domain name registra has been transferred to the Alibaba Cloud DNS, you can transfer the domain name to another account in the Domains console. If your DNS server is hosted on a thrid-party resolution service provider, we recommend that you migrate it to Alibaba Cloud DNS. This prevents any service disruptions due to resolution interruptions. For more information, see Smooth domain name imgration to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

You can transfer a domain name to Alibaba Cloud without affecting DNS resolution. Domain names and DNS resolution are independent. Transferring a domain name to or from Alibaba Cloud does not necessitate the transfer of DNS. Therefore, DNS resolution is not affected if you transfer only the domain name and no DNS record is migrated.

• To ensure a seamless transition and avoid any disruption in domain name resolution when transferring both the domain name and DNS record to Alibaba Cloud, we recommend that you first migrate the DNS records to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console. For detailed information, see Smooth domain name imgration to Alibaba Cloud DNS.

• To transfer both the domain name and DNS records from Alibaba Cloud DNS to a thrid-party resolution service provider, follow the requirements of the thrid-party domain name registrar.

If the domain name to which an Alibaba Cloud DNS instance is bound expires, DNS resolution becomes unavailable. After you renew the expired domain name, DNS resolution is resumed within 24 to 48 hours in most cases.

If you renew your domain name after it expires, it usually takes 24 hours for the domain names that are registered with Alibaba Cloud and use the free edition of Alibaba Cloud DNS to be restored and it usually takes 24 to 48 hours for the domain names that are not registered with Alibaba Cloud to be restored. The actual period depends on the intervals at which the DNS cache is refreshed. This process cannot be accelerated. We recommend that you renew the domain name before it expires. The following section describes two common scenarios in which domain names are renewed after expiration:

No, we cannot help you resume DNS resolution. After a domain name expires, the domain name registrar stops the DNS services on the DNS servers of the domain name. Although Alibaba Cloud DNS provides DNS resolution, DNS recursive queries cannot be forwarded to Alibaba Cloud DNS. Alibaba Cloud DNS cannot resolve the DNS resolution issues caused by expired domain names. In most cases, DNS resolution can be resumed 24 to 48 hours after you renew an expired domain name.

The domain name is detected by WHOIS lookup. WHOIS lookup does not retrieve the most up-to-date information in real-time. If you encounter this issue, we recommend that you visit whois lookup and click Search to query the information about domain names.