diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch.go
index a3493e75009..ff202088a00 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch.go
@@ -111,15 +111,14 @@ func FetchBinary(ctx context.Context, fetcher Fetcher, dist, ver, binName, out s
 	}
 	defer arcFile.Close()
 
-	// Open connection to download archive from ipfs path
-	rc, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, arcDistPath)
+	// Open connection to download archive from ipfs path and write to file
+	arcBytes, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, arcDistPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
-	defer rc.Close()
 
 	// Write download data
-	_, err = io.Copy(arcFile, rc)
+	_, err = io.Copy(arcFile, bytes.NewReader(arcBytes))
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch_test.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch_test.go
index ec7c6d5e73e..2273cb5e9e0 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch_test.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetch_test.go
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ package migrations
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"os"
@@ -96,14 +96,13 @@ func TestHttpFetch(t *testing.T) {
 
 	fetcher := NewHttpFetcher("", ts.URL, "", 0)
 
-	rc, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "/versions")
+	out, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "/versions")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	defer rc.Close()
 
 	var lines []string
-	scan := bufio.NewScanner(rc)
+	scan := bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(out))
 	for scan.Scan() {
 		lines = append(lines, scan.Text())
 	}
@@ -232,16 +231,11 @@ func TestMultiFetcher(t *testing.T) {
 
 	mf := NewMultiFetcher(badFetcher, fetcher)
 
-	rc, err := mf.Fetch(ctx, "/versions")
+	vers, err := mf.Fetch(ctx, "/versions")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	defer rc.Close()
 
-	vers, err := ioutil.ReadAll(rc)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal("could not read versions:", err)
-	}
 	if len(vers) < 45 {
 		fmt.Println("unexpected more data")
 	}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetcher.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetcher.go
index 26a9275ded7..8e30f06fb66 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetcher.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/fetcher.go
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@ const (
 
 type Fetcher interface {
 	// Fetch attempts to fetch the file at the given ipfs path.
-	// Returns io.ReadCloser on success, which caller must close.
-	Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser, error)
+	Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) ([]byte, error)
 	// Close performs any cleanup after the fetcher is not longer needed.
 	Close() error
 }
@@ -48,13 +47,12 @@ func NewMultiFetcher(f ...Fetcher) Fetcher {
 }
 
 // Fetch attempts to fetch the file at each of its fetchers until one succeeds.
-// Returns io.ReadCloser on success, which caller must close.
-func (f *MultiFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, ipfsPath string) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+func (f *MultiFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, ipfsPath string) ([]byte, error) {
 	var errs error
 	for _, fetcher := range f.fetchers {
-		rc, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, ipfsPath)
+		out, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, ipfsPath)
 		if err == nil {
-			return rc, nil
+			return out, nil
 		}
 		errs = multierror.Append(errs, err)
 	}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/httpfetcher.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/httpfetcher.go
index 6fb20bb45c2..3f74a084ed6 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/httpfetcher.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/httpfetcher.go
@@ -60,9 +60,8 @@ func NewHttpFetcher(distPath, gateway, userAgent string, fetchLimit int64) *Http
 }
 
 // Fetch attempts to fetch the file at the given path, from the distribution
-// site configured for this HttpFetcher.  Returns io.ReadCloser on success,
-// which caller must close.
-func (f *HttpFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+// site configured for this HttpFetcher.
+func (f *HttpFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) ([]byte, error) {
 	gwURL := f.gateway + path.Join(f.distPath, filePath)
 	fmt.Printf("Fetching with HTTP: %q\n", gwURL)
 
@@ -89,10 +88,15 @@ func (f *HttpFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("GET %s error: %s: %s", gwURL, resp.Status, string(mes))
 	}
 
+	var rc io.ReadCloser
 	if f.limit != 0 {
-		return NewLimitReadCloser(resp.Body, f.limit), nil
+		rc = NewLimitReadCloser(resp.Body, f.limit)
+	} else {
+		rc = resp.Body
 	}
-	return resp.Body, nil
+	defer rc.Close()
+
+	return ioutil.ReadAll(rc)
 }
 
 func (f *HttpFetcher) Close() error {
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher.go
index 88f07b502ee..11203ed5a05 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher.go
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ type IpfsFetcher struct {
 	addrInfo peer.AddrInfo
 }
 
+var _ migrations.Fetcher = (*IpfsFetcher)(nil)
+
 // NewIpfsFetcher creates a new IpfsFetcher
 //
 // Specifying "" for distPath sets the default IPNS path.
@@ -85,9 +87,8 @@ func NewIpfsFetcher(distPath string, fetchLimit int64, repoRoot *string) *IpfsFe
 }
 
 // Fetch attempts to fetch the file at the given path, from the distribution
-// site configured for this HttpFetcher.  Returns io.ReadCloser on success,
-// which caller must close.
-func (f *IpfsFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+// site configured for this HttpFetcher.
+func (f *IpfsFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) ([]byte, error) {
 	// Initialize and start IPFS node on first call to Fetch, since the fetcher
 	// may be created by not used.
 	f.openOnce.Do(func() {
@@ -123,10 +124,15 @@ func (f *IpfsFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%q is not a file", filePath)
 	}
 
+	var rc io.ReadCloser
 	if f.limit != 0 {
-		return migrations.NewLimitReadCloser(fileNode, f.limit), nil
+		rc = migrations.NewLimitReadCloser(fileNode, f.limit)
+	} else {
+		rc = fileNode
 	}
-	return fileNode, nil
+	defer rc.Close()
+
+	return ioutil.ReadAll(rc)
 }
 
 func (f *IpfsFetcher) Close() error {
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher_test.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher_test.go
index 877de5e788e..e300371a679 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher_test.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/ipfsfetcher/ipfsfetcher_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package ipfsfetcher
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
@@ -28,14 +29,13 @@ func TestIpfsFetcher(t *testing.T) {
 	fetcher := NewIpfsFetcher("", 0, nil)
 	defer fetcher.Close()
 
-	rc, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "go-ipfs/versions")
+	out, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "go-ipfs/versions")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	defer rc.Close()
 
 	var lines []string
-	scan := bufio.NewScanner(rc)
+	scan := bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(out))
 	for scan.Scan() {
 		lines = append(lines, scan.Text())
 	}
@@ -52,8 +52,7 @@ func TestIpfsFetcher(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Check not found
-	_, err = fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "/no_such_file")
-	if err == nil {
+	if _, err = fetcher.Fetch(ctx, "/no_such_file"); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected error 404")
 	}
 
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations.go
index 861dc7b7caf..5eac91b2932 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations.go
@@ -155,13 +155,14 @@ func ReadMigrationConfig(repoRoot string) (*config.Migration, error) {
 // downloadSources,
 func GetMigrationFetcher(downloadSources []string, distPath string, newIpfsFetcher func(string) Fetcher) (Fetcher, error) {
 	const httpUserAgent = "go-ipfs"
+	const numTriesPerHTTP = 3
 
 	var fetchers []Fetcher
 	for _, src := range downloadSources {
 		src := strings.TrimSpace(src)
 		switch src {
 		case "HTTPS", "https", "HTTP", "http":
-			fetchers = append(fetchers, NewHttpFetcher(distPath, "", httpUserAgent, 0))
+			fetchers = append(fetchers, &RetryFetcher{NewHttpFetcher(distPath, "", httpUserAgent, 0), numTriesPerHTTP})
 		case "IPFS", "ipfs":
 			if newIpfsFetcher != nil {
 				fetchers = append(fetchers, newIpfsFetcher(distPath))
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ func GetMigrationFetcher(downloadSources []string, distPath string, newIpfsFetch
 			default:
 				return nil, errors.New("bad gateway address: url scheme must be http or https")
 			}
-			fetchers = append(fetchers, NewHttpFetcher(distPath, u.String(), httpUserAgent, 0))
+			fetchers = append(fetchers, &RetryFetcher{NewHttpFetcher(distPath, u.String(), httpUserAgent, 0), numTriesPerHTTP})
 		case "":
 			// Ignore empty string
 		}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations_test.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations_test.go
index b09174a4930..0e52b3a65ed 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations_test.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/migrations_test.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package migrations
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -290,7 +289,9 @@ func TestReadMigrationConfig(t *testing.T) {
 
 type mockIpfsFetcher struct{}
 
-func (m *mockIpfsFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+var _ Fetcher = (*mockIpfsFetcher)(nil)
+
+func (m *mockIpfsFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) ([]byte, error) {
 	return nil, nil
 }
 
@@ -323,7 +324,9 @@ func TestGetMigrationFetcher(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if _, ok := f.(*HttpFetcher); !ok {
+	if rf, ok := f.(*RetryFetcher); !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected RetryFetcher")
+	} else if _, ok := rf.Fetcher.(*HttpFetcher); !ok {
 		t.Fatal("expected HttpFetcher")
 	}
 
@@ -341,7 +344,9 @@ func TestGetMigrationFetcher(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if _, ok := f.(*HttpFetcher); !ok {
+	if rf, ok := f.(*RetryFetcher); !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected RetryFetcher")
+	} else if _, ok := rf.Fetcher.(*HttpFetcher); !ok {
 		t.Fatal("expected HttpFetcher")
 	}
 
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/retryfetcher.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/retryfetcher.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..81415bb6756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/retryfetcher.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package migrations
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+type RetryFetcher struct {
+	Fetcher
+	MaxTries int
+}
+
+var _ Fetcher = (*RetryFetcher)(nil)
+
+func (r *RetryFetcher) Fetch(ctx context.Context, filePath string) ([]byte, error) {
+	var lastErr error
+	for i := 0; i < r.MaxTries; i++ {
+		out, err := r.Fetcher.Fetch(ctx, filePath)
+		if err == nil {
+			return out, nil
+		}
+
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			return nil, ctx.Err()
+		}
+		lastErr = err
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("exceeded number of retries. last error was %w", lastErr)
+}
+
+func (r *RetryFetcher) Close() error {
+	return r.Fetcher.Close()
+}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/versions.go b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/versions.go
index 69b2e290bb4..af5bbbbd969 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/migrations/versions.go
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/migrations/versions.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package migrations
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
@@ -39,16 +40,15 @@ func LatestDistVersion(ctx context.Context, fetcher Fetcher, dist string, stable
 // available on the distriburion site.  List is in ascending order, unless
 // sortDesc is true.
 func DistVersions(ctx context.Context, fetcher Fetcher, dist string, sortDesc bool) ([]string, error) {
-	rc, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, path.Join(dist, distVersions))
+	versionBytes, err := fetcher.Fetch(ctx, path.Join(dist, distVersions))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	defer rc.Close()
 
 	prefix := "v"
 	var vers []semver.Version
 
-	scan := bufio.NewScanner(rc)
+	scan := bufio.NewScanner(bytes.NewReader(versionBytes))
 	for scan.Scan() {
 		ver, err := semver.Make(strings.TrimLeft(scan.Text(), prefix))
 		if err != nil {