Trying to add a 2nd CNAME and I get error msg - A record with that host already exists Code: 81053

katbailey · April 3, 2021, 7:35am

Hi there, I’m trying to update my DNS records to move my domain from Kajabi to Teachable.

Teachable has given me this article to go off - Custom Domains – Teachable

Cloudflare won’t let me add the second CNAME record for name ‘@’

It’s coming up with an error message - ‘An A, AAAA, or CNAME record with that host already exists. (Code: 81053)’

I didn’t want to delete any more of my records because a lot of those are for my email and I don’t want to lose that.

Does anyone know where I go from here? I’m not tech at all, & needing to get this setup ASAP. Thanks!!

domjh · April 4, 2021, 8:16pm

Hi @katbailey,

You can only have one CNAME record for each hostname. If you already have one for your domain or any A or AAAA records for the same hostname, you would need to remove or edit that to the new one required.

This shouldn’t affect your email if it is configured properly, but if you post a screenshot of your records (blanking out IP addresses), we may be able to help further.

katbailey · April 4, 2021, 3:59am

Hi @domjh , thanks so much for your reply!! I’ve attached my DNA records. If you can make sense of it I’d love some help! Thank you

katbailey · April 4, 2021, 4:00am

katbailey · April 4, 2021, 4:01am

katbailey · April 4, 2021, 4:02am

anaytkorai · April 4, 2021, 8:55am

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domjh · April 4, 2021, 11:04am

No worries.

You currently have an A record for your domain pointing to a server IP, if you now want to point a CNAME to a different service, you would need to remove that record first, then add the new record.

As for your email, your MX record points to the mail hostname, so changing the root domain should not affect it.

katbailey · April 5, 2021, 11:56pm

Thanks so much @domjh … I really appreciate your help! Yes I saw that there were A and AA records for my domain, so I deleted those 2 and added in the one teachable was instructing me to do. When I entered the new CNAME, it’s changed the name I entered - ‘@’ - to ‘fertilitynutritionhub.com’. Is this ok?

Thank you again so much! Kat.

domjh · April 5, 2021, 11:57pm

Yes, that’s expected. @ is just shorthand for your domain name.

No problem at all, hopefully it’s all sorted, but let us know if you have any more issues/questions.