Informix Error -1803: Connection does not exist.

Reasons / Common Causes

-1803 fires when a SET CONNECTION or DISCONNECT statement's connection name doesn't refer to an established connection — per the official guidance, common causes include the connection never having been made, having already been disconnected, or a spelling mistake in the connection name.

1. The connection never actually established, per the official guidance's first named check.
2. The connection already disconnected, per the official guidance's second named check.
3. A misspelled connection name in the failing statement, per the official guidance's third named check.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Check your program to see that the connection was made, per the official guidance.
2. Check that it was not already disconnected, per the official guidance.
3. Check the spelling of the connection name in the failing statement, per the official guidance.

Examples

A misspelled connection name

CONNECT TO 'stores7@server_a' AS conn1;
SET CONNECTION conn_1;
-- -1803: conn1 (no underscore), not conn_1, was the established name

Corrected

SET CONNECTION conn1;

Diagnostic Checks

1. Trace the program's connection lifecycle for the named connection, and check its exact spelling against the failing statement.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -1802 — "Connection name in use." The mirror-image restriction: CONNECT TO reusing an already-established name, rather than SET CONNECTION/DISCONNECT referencing one that isn't established.

The referenced connection isn't established — check it was made, wasn't already disconnected, and is spelled correctly.