Troubleshooting Domain Availability Problems

Domain results can sometimes be reported inaccurately. For example a domain showing available when it is already registered, or a domain showing as registered when it is available. This page explains the common causes.

Navigate to Configuration > System Logs (Utilities > Logs > Activity Log prior to WHMCS 8.0).

Look at the WHOIS Lookup Error log entries made at the time of checking for a domain. See the explanation and solution for the common errors below:

Extension not listed

WHMCS can check the availability of over 200 different domain extensions as standard by connecting to the relevant whois server for the domain in question.

It does this by looking through a list of common whois servers contained with in the resources/domains/dist.whois.json file., then looking for any custom whois servers in the user-modifiable /resources/domains/whois.json file.

If the domain being checked in this case is not in the list, there are two ways to address the error:

  • Add extra whois server details by following the instructions in WHOIS Servers.
  • Select your domain registrar as a lookup provider (if supported by the module).

Error: 110 - Connection Error

This error indicates that your firewall is blocking the whois port (43). First, make sure port 43 is open.

It could also indicate that your server is unable to connect to the specific whois server in the /resources/domains/dist.whois.json file. Make sure your server is able to connect to the whois server on port 43 for the TLD in this file.

Error: 110 - Network is unreachable

This error indicates that your firewall is blocking the whois port (43). First, make sure port 43 is open.

It could also indicate that your server is unable to connect to the specific whois server in the /resources/domains/dist.whois.json file. Make sure your server is able to connect to the whois server on port 43 for the TLD in this file.

Error: 0 - php_network_getaddresses: getaddrinfo failed: Name or service not known

This indicates that an entry for the TLD does exist in the resources/domains/dist.whois.json file, but your server is unable to resolve it.

Double-check the IANA database to make sure that you're connecting to the correct whois server. If you are, speak to your server administrator to investigate why you server is unable to resolve it.

Error detail unknown

For information about this error, see the Connection Error section above.

No domains on the results page

If there are no errors recorded in the logs but no domain results are displayed on the availability check results page, refer to  Troubleshooting Order Form Issues.

Domains must begin with a letter or number

The most common cause of this issue is that WHMCS is configured to use multiple currencies, but a price is not configured in the currency currently in use.

To resolve this issue, make sure that you have all currencies configured in Configuration > System Settings > Domain Pricing (Setup > Products/Services > Domain Pricing prior to WHMCS 8.0). Click Open Pricing for the TLD in question.

For example, when offering the 2 Year Pricing term in USD, specify the 2 Year Pricing term in all of your other currencies.

The domain you entered is not valid

This indicates that pricing for the TLD is not specified, and WHMCS does not have a whois server to check availability of the TLD.

To resolve the error you can either:

  • Add pricing for the TLD via the Configuration > System Settings > Domain Pricing page.

For more information, see: Configuring Domain Extensions (TLDs).

  • Add a whois server for the TLD to the /resources/domains/whois.json file.

For more information, see Adding New Domain Availability Checks.