Informix Error -21000: Invalid byte in codeset conversion input.

Cause and resolution

Invalid byte in codeset conversion input.

Code-set conversion cannot recognize data that is being passed between the server and the client. Check DB_LOCALE and CLIENT_LOCALE settings in your initialization file or your environment.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-21000 fires when code-set conversion can't recognize a byte in data passed between the server and the client — per the official guidance.

Data containing a byte the current code-set conversion can't recognize, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

Check the DB_LOCALE and CLIENT_LOCALE settings in the initialization file or environment, per the official guidance.

Examples

Checking locale settings

$ env | grep -E 'DB_LOCALE|CLIENT_LOCALE'

Diagnostic Checks

Check DB_LOCALE and CLIENT_LOCALE, and confirm they're compatible with the actual data being sent.

Related Errors / Related Topics

-21001 — "Incomplete character at end of codeset conversion input." A related code-set conversion error, on a truncated multi-byte character rather than an unrecognized byte.
-21005 — "Inexact character conversion during translation." A related, milder code-set issue — a substitution character was used rather than the conversion failing outright.

Code-set conversion couldn't recognize a byte in the data — check DB_LOCALE/ CLIENT_LOCALE for compatibility.