One warning if you want to use 1&1 for domain names: it takes forever to make any simple changes that every other registrar is able to make right away.
Let’s say you buy a domain name and then want to point it to your DNS servers. Simple enough, right? But with 1and1, it’ll say “updating” for about 8 hours, throughout which they’ll keep reporting their DNS servers as the authoritative ones. After about 8 hours, the status will change to “domain update done.”
But that’s a lie. I don’t know why it says that, because it’s not done at all. They still report their servers as authoritative (this is at the WHOIS level querying their server, don’t think I’m just checking my local ISP and that I don’t understand DNS TTL.) And the DNS button is greyed out if I select the domain that’s now supposed to be done updating, so I can’t make any changes to it.
Oddly enough, “domain update done” isn’t a status message that they explain. There’s a helpful question mark next to “status,” but that only gives you the following options:
- Ready - This domain’s settings can be changed by clicking on the available options in the toolbar.
- Update - This domain is currently undergoing an update. Please wait until the domain is ready before changing any settings.
- DNS settings incomplete with registrar - This domain cannot be configured until the DNS settings are complete.
- Waiting for approval - This domain is currently unavailable for configuration. Transfers usually take up to ten days once all the proper forms are received.
- Domain setup error - Please review the settings and correct any errors. You can also reset the domain by selecting it and then clicking on DNS in the toolbar. On the next page click on Reset.
- Other - If the status is not explained here, visit our FAQs for more information
Ok, so you can click through to the FAQs for explanations of other status results. But after much FAQ browsing, I don’t see anything about “domain update done.” They do have a question about being unable to change the DNS settings, but those all talk about errors with the setup. Some Google searching indicates that the message I’m getting just means they’re still working on making a simple DNS server change, and the right answer is to keep waiting, maybe up to 24 hours before they make their change. And then of course you have the DNS propagation delays while you wait for caches to expire all over the net. Good thing this is a new unused domain which shouldn’t have any caching issues (I’ve been careful not to lookup the name at my ISP until 1&1 gets the right info in there.)
Some day I’ll have to post about my scam experience with 1and1, from back when they were charging less for domain names than it cost them to get them, and they sent my account to a collection agency saying I hadn’t payed for a $6 renewal, even though they had my correct credit card information saved in their billing system. Nobody there was ever able to explain why I had to pay all kinds of outrageous fees to reactivate my account for non-payment, when they had all my billing information right there if they only wanted to use it (which they were supposed to do.)
Oops, I guess I just posted my 1&1 scam experience. There you go. My theory is that their attempt to use cheap domains as a loss leader for their expensive supplemental products (like hosting and crap) wasn’t working out, so they needed to pull billing scams like that one to make a profit on domain names. They increased their prices shortly afterwards.