How to Transfer Domain Names from BigRock to Porkbun

Every time a domain name is about to expire, it stresses me out.

Again, I have to search for the best coupons or talk to their customer support team for asking for a discount, they will rob you if you don’t do that (link to tips to purchase domain and hosting).

Sometimes it takes more than a day to find a good deal.

One fine day I realized one of my domain (can’t reveal the niche) is going to expire in like 20 days in BigRock. 20 days is a lot, but I wanted to do some RnD and find a good deal, so having more time is better.

I knew that most of the time Porkbun is the cheapest one. Some other websites may give a good offer initially but after a year they increase the renewal price a lot, an example would be BigRock and this is one of the reasons I am leaving it.

GoDaddy shows the increased renewal price, then the way to get it for a proper price is to chat with the support team and then they give some handsome discount, yet not better than Porkbun. GoDaddy has another way. They have something called Discount Domain Club gives you the lowest prices and deals in new domains and renewals. Basically you have to be subscribed to a service to learn about the offers, – which I find so lame.

I like it simple, I don’t want to break my head searching coupons or begging domain registrars’ support team for discount, every time I have to renew a domain. I prefer sticking to one which will provide me with a good enough deal and without any fudge.

So I tried checking the price for Transfer and Renewal in Porkbun. And I decided to transfer.

Here is the renew price if I was to keep it in BigRock

And here is the price if I transfer it to Porkbun

I save like one third. And this not just one time, each year I had to pay that extra price if I decided to stay with BigRock.

Plus, I get Privacy Protection for Free with Porkbun. This is the second reason I wanted migrate to Porkbun.

So, it is no brainer I should transfer.

How to transfer domain names from BigRock to PorkBun – Step by step

Another complaint I have against BigRock is their documentation on transferring out of BigRock is so complicated. The actual process is very simple, but their documentation scares you.

The process which could be explained nicely in a few paragraphs you have to go through at least 2-3 pages. Also, there are some of the links to confuse you, so basically you end up opening a few extra pages. Here is the documentation if you are interested –

• https://manage.bigrock.in/kb/node/53
• https://manage.bigrock.in/kb/servlet/KBServlet/faq491.html
• https://manage.bigrock.in/kb/servlet/KBServlet/faq457.html
• https://manage.bigrock.in/kb/servlet/KBServlet/faq620.html#authcode
• https://manage.bigrock.in/kb/servlet/KBServlet/faq432.html

Also, I wanted you to know – in these steps I have copy-pasted some of the words directly from the documentations. My point is just to bring an easy guide that you can follow and complete the transfer successfully, not to showcase my grip on literature.

Before going to the actual steps – 

Make sure your domain is Transferrable

The domain can’t be transferred if you have any of these –

• The domain is not using WHOIS privacy protection if the service does not forward emails.
• Domain has been registered for at least 60 days.
• Domain has been with current registrar for at least 60 days.
• The domain name is unlocked and not on hold.
• Domain name is in the Redemption Grace Period or the Pending Delete status
• There are Some domain name extension specific conditions where you can’t transfer. I have attached a screenshot from BigRock. Mostly you don’t have this issue, so you can skip this, but good to know

If you have the 2nd or 3rd issue, you have to wait for 60 days period to get over. If there are other issues, then 

If you have all this ready now you are ready for the action. Follow the steps

How to Unlock Domain in BigRock in 3 Steps

Before you transfer the domain to PorkBun, you need to Unlock in BigRock.

1. Navigate to the Order Information view in BigRock Control Panel

You will see this interface on many Domain name registrars (GoDaddy is an exception, they have their own interface). To navigate to the Order Information view it in Bigrock

You can go to the Customer Control Panel (not to be confused with cPanel) either by going to manage.bigrock.in > Manage Orders > List/Search Orders, you will see list of your product like this

or you go to their new interface my.bigrock.in > My Products, to see list of your product like this

From the list of products, select the domain name you want to transfer out of BigRock, and you should see the dashboard. Find the Domain Registration section. This is where you can perform any modifications to the Order and all of the later works will be done from here.

Mostly the Domain Registration section will be the first thing on the screen, but in case it is not to be found in the beginning, scroll through the items on the right menu, you should find it.

2. Disable the WHOIS Privacy Protection

Privacy Protection is for to make your contact information unavailable for the public. But to allow your new registrar to verify the ownership, you need to disable it for time being.

In the Order Information view, there you will see this Privacy Protection module. Click on it you should see the option to turn it off. In my case, I didn’t have privacy protection with BigRock.

3. Disable the Theft Protection / Lock / Suspension in BigRock

Theft Protection or Lock or Suspension, different terms used by different domain registrars, which when enabled, protect your domain from theft or accidental transfer.

To transfer the domain out from current registrar you need to make sure the Theft Protection / Lock / Suspension whatever you call it is turned off, in other words you make sure the domain in unlocked in BigRock account.

In to the Order Information view, click the Theft Protection link. To Enable Theft Protection: select the Enable button.

Submit the Domain and Auth Code for Transfer

While you are in the Order Information view in BigRock account, copy the authorization code, we will need it later.

To do that, click on the Domain Secret module, your secret authorization code will appear, select and copy it.

Now navigate to porkbun.com/transfer, scroll down, type the domain name you want to transfer in the Domain Name field, paste the authorization code that you have just copied from BigRock’s Order Information view, into the Auth Code field > Submit

Now click on ‘Add Transfers to Cart‘ and you will be sent to an account login / creation page. Fill your account details there, then you will be sent to the payment page.

One of the best thing about PorkBun is 8.56 dollars means 8.56 dollars, no tax, no extra shit at all. Fill up your card details, or pay through Cryptocurrencies (not recommended for two reasons, 1. you have to pay at least 10% extra 2. anything you buy with Cryptocurrencies is not refundable. But if you earn cryptocurrencies just by browsing the web through the brave browser then who cares about the 10%.)

What next?

Now you do not need to anything at all, you just wait for a few days, the transfer of domain name to a Porkbun usually takes about 5 days to be transferred successfully. So relax if you do not see the success immediately.

You do not even have to set the nameservers in your new account

No need to change nameservers in your new domain registrar

Porkbun (your new domain registrar) will copy the nameservers which you had set up with your old old registrar. So, there is no downtime at all.

Once the transfer is successfully complete, you will receive an email with the subject “porkbun.com | Transfer In Notification – Transfer Complete”

You can also check the status of the transfer in Porkbun Dashboard.

Log in to porkbun.com/account > click on your username on the top right corner > select Domain Management from the dropdown list. You can see the status like this

Here are all other statuses details.

Once the domain transfer is completed successfully, it will be shown in your domain list and will look like this

FAQs about domain transfer to Porkbun

Learn more from ICANN’s official documents.

Also, refer to this Lifehacker article for more clarity.