📌 The Problem
I ran into an unusual problem when trying to reconfigure a custom domain for my Blogger blog. The domain (www.myblogdomain.com) had been successfully set up and used in the past. But after migrating my DNS to a new server and losing the original CNAME records, I could no longer re-add the domain in Blogger.
Specifically:
- When I typed the domain (
www.myblogdomain.com) into Blogger’s Custom Domain field, no CNAME verification appeared. - Blogger didn’t show the usual error like: “We have not been able to verify your authority to this domain.”
- The field simply remained blank or unresponsive — I couldn’t save or proceed.
🎯 Root Cause
Blogger ties your custom domain to your blog in the backend, even after you’ve removed it from the dashboard.
So even if you delete the custom domain from Blogger:
- The backend still treats the domain as already verified
- And therefore doesn’t generate the CNAME token again
- But without CNAME, you can’t verify ownership anymore — deadlock.
🔍 What Didn’t Work
- Removing and re-adding the domain in Blogger.
- Using a fake domain (like
www.testing123.com) to “trigger” new CNAME tokens. - Reusing the CNAME token from the fake domain on my real one (didn’t work — tokens are domain-specific).
- Waiting for DNS propagation.
- Contacting Google via Blogger’s Domain Help Form — still waiting for a fix.
✅ The Solution That Worked
🔄 Use a real alternative domain to force Blogger to unbind the original one.
This approach resets Blogger’s internal domain-binding and allows your original domain to be re-added cleanly with a new CNAME verification token.
🔧 Step-by-Step
1. Use a different domain you actually own
Example: www.myotherdomain.com
2. Go to Blogger → Settings → Publishing → Custom Domain
Add the new domain:www.myotherdomain.com
Blogger will now show two CNAME records, e.g.:
www → ghs.google.com
abc123xyz → gv-abcdef.dv.googlehosted.com
3. Add those CNAMEs to your DNS
Once propagated, Blogger will accept the domain and publish your blog to it.
4. After it’s live, delete that domain from Blogger
Now, Blogger releases your previous domain from the backend association.
5. Re-add your original domain (www.myblogdomain.com)
This time, Blogger will:
- Treat it as new
- Show the CNAME verification tokens
- Let you complete the setup again
⚠️ Things to Note
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Only one custom domain per blog | Adding a new one removes the old one internally |
| CNAME token is domain-specific | Can’t reuse tokens from other domains |
| DNS propagation may take 5–30 minutes | Sometimes even up to 1 hour |
| Blogger backend caching | It may take time for Blogger to fully release the old domain |
| Form to request manual unlink | Domain Help Request Form |
🧪 Optional: Use a Dummy Blog for Testing
If you want to test whether your old domain has been fully unlinked:
- Create a new dummy blog
- Try adding
www.myblogdomain.com - If it works → the domain is clean and ready
- Remove it from the dummy blog → add it back to your real one
✅ Conclusion
This problem is not well-documented on blogs, forums, or even Google’s own docs — because it’s a rare edge-case.
But by understanding how Blogger handles domain verification and backend associations, you can:
- Force a reset using a real domain
- Trigger a fresh CNAME token
- Reclaim your old domain with a clean setup
🛠️ Tools and References
If you’ve run into the same issue and found other ways to fix it, feel free to share in the comments.
This article exists because I couldn’t find this exact solution anywhere — so hopefully it saves you the pain I went through!