I have a domain that I’m trying to transfer into Vercel from name.com. The domain has been unlocked, I have a transfer code, I reached out to their support to confirm transfer eligibility (all thumbs up from their end). When I attempt a transfer, all I get is “Error: An unexpected error happened while initiating the transfer.”. The CLI tool says it’s even A-OK to transfer with renewal enabled and is available. The domain is a .work address, and from what I can tell, is in the supported domain list.
Vercel CLI 48.6.7
The domain “-hidden-” is available to transfer under -hidden-! [2s]
? - Transfer auth code: -hidden-
? Transfer now with 1yr renewal for $9? yes
Error: An unexpected error happened while initiating the transfer.
I’ve tried to reach out to support through various emails but it’s almost impossible to find a way to speak to a person. What am I supposed to do here?
The domain troubleshooting guide can help with most custom domain configuration issues. You might be able to use that guide to solve it before a human is available to help you. Then you can come back here and share the answer for bonus points.
You can also use v0 to narrow down the possibilities.
.work domains should absolutely be supported for transfers into Vercel, so since everything looks correct on the Name.com side and the CLI says it’s available, this is likely something happening on our backend rather than anything you’ve misconfigured.
A couple things you can try in the meantime:
Give it a little time and retry: Sometimes transfer hiccups sort themselves out after a short while.
Try through the Dashboard: If you haven’t already, try adding/initiating the transfer under Domains in the Vercel Dashboard instead of the CLI.
Double-check the auth code: Make sure there aren’t any sneaky hidden characters when copying/pasting.
Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, I’ve actually been trying for around 3 weeks now I figured I’d give a good amount of time trying until it really was obvious it wasn’t going to work.
I’ve tried from both the dashboard and the CLI
I’ve manually typed in the transfer code and via copy/paste in both locations
I’ve tried disabling the WHOIS privacy settings, which also appears to have had no effect (I’ve heard some domain registrars can have hiccups around this)
If there’s anything else I can try, I’m happy to work through it. Though, from the looks of it, I’ve exhausted just about everything I can from my end.
Chiming back in again post-Thanksgiving, as I know we’ve entered the holiday season! Please let me know if there’s anything else I can try, or if this needs to be elevated to internal support channels.
I’m going to assume Name.com is not sending back everything Vercel is expecting in the domains metadata or RDAP response during the transfer. I continue to wait for a resolution, but it’s a shame the domain is stuck until this is resolved on their backend. I’ve honestly been wanting to get this domain moved away from name.com for a while because their service is a bit strange to work with.
I figured I’d give a good amount of time trying until it really was obvious it wasn’t going to work.