Unable to Reuse My Custom Domain After Losing Access to Previous Azure Account

Question

Hello Azure Community,

I need help resolving an issue with adding a custom domain to my Azure Static Web App. Here's the situation:

• I own the domain shovandas.com and manage it via Namecheap.
• Previously, I had successfully added this domain to an Azure Static Web App on a different Azure account. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to that account.
• To reuse the domain, I removed all DNS configurations (CNAME, TXT, etc.) from Namecheap’s Advanced DNS settings for shovandas.com.

Problem:

When I try to add shovandas.com or www.shovandas.com as a custom domain to my new Azure Static Web App, I encounter the following issues:

TXT Validation Fails:

• After generating the TXT record and adding it to Namecheap, the validation fails with the error: "domainName is invalid. The domain name given was not found."

1. CNAME Validation Fails:
   • When trying to validate www.shovandas.com, it fails with the error: "Could not add custom domain. Please ensure the custom domain is not linked to another app or that a previous implementation is not still being cleaned up."

Steps Taken:

1. Cleared all DNS records from Namecheap for the domain.
2. Verified the domain works without any DNS records.
3. Attempted to add the domain to my new Azure account’s Static Web App.

Request:

How can I:

1. Confirm whether my domain is still linked to the old Azure account or app?
2. Remove the association if I no longer have access to that account?
3. Successfully validate and add the custom domain to my new Static Web App?

Any guidance or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance, Shovan

Title: Help Needed: Unable to Reuse My Custom Domain After Losing Access to Previous Azure Account

Hello Azure Community,

I need help resolving an issue with adding a custom domain to my Azure Static Web App. Here's the situation:

• I own the domain shovandas.com and manage it via Namecheap.
• Previously, I had successfully added this domain to an Azure Static Web App on a different Azure account. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to that account.
• To reuse the domain, I removed all DNS configurations (CNAME, TXT, etc.) from Namecheap’s Advanced DNS settings for shovandas.com.

Problem:

When I try to add shovandas.com or www.shovandas.com as a custom domain to my new Azure Static Web App, I encounter the following issues:

TXT Validation Fails:

• After generating the TXT record and adding it to Namecheap, the validation fails with the error:
  "domainName is invalid. The domain name given was not found."

1. CNAME Validation Fails:
   • When trying to validate www.shovandas.com, it fails with the error:
     "Could not add custom domain. Please ensure the custom domain is not linked to another app or that a previous implementation is not still being cleaned up."

Steps Taken:

1. Cleared all DNS records from Namecheap for the domain.
2. Verified the domain works without any DNS records.
3. Attempted to add the domain to my new Azure account’s Static Web App.

Request:

How can I:

1. Confirm whether my domain is still linked to the old Azure account or app?
2. Remove the association if I no longer have access to that account?
3. Successfully validate and add the custom domain to my new Static Web App?

Any guidance or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Shovan

Answer 1

Hello @Shovan Das

Thanks for contacting MS Q&A. I will be able to help you with resolving your issues.

Thanks for sharing the details, Shovan. You're encountering a known issue with Azure Static Web Apps where custom domains are "locked" if previously associated with another Azure resource, even if you no longer control that resource or tenant.

Verify DNS Setup (TXT/CNAME)

You likely did this already, but double-check:

For TXT validation: Name: @ or your domain (shovandas.com) Value: Azure-provided verification string (e.g. asuid.shovandas.com)

For CNAME validation (www.shovandas.com): Name: www Value: yourappname.azurestaticapps.net

Use tools like https://dnschecker.org to ensure propagation.

Azure doesn’t provide a public way to check which resource has the domain bound. So the only way to confirm this is via Azure Support.

Since you don’t have access to the previous Azure tenant, Microsoft needs to manually unbind the domain.

Here’s what to do:

1. Go to Azure Support: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/support/create-ticket/
2. Sign in with your new Azure account.
3. Create a support request with these details:
   • Service: Static Web Apps
   • Problem type: Custom domain issues
   • Issue: Custom domain previously used, cannot reassign
   • Description:

     I am the domain owner of shovandas.com and previously had it linked to a Static Web App under an old Azure account I can no longer access. I have removed all DNS records and verified ownership via Namecheap. I am now trying to link the domain to a new Static Web App but receive errors indicating it’s still linked to a prior resource. Please help release this domain for reuse.

4. Attach a screenshot of the domain registered under your Namecheap account as proof of ownership.

Once the domain is released:

Try to add it again from the Azure portal.

Follow the TXT/CNAME validation steps, and it should succeed.

Docs - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/static-web-apps/custom-domain

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Siri