iCloud error - Failed indexing - Unexpect char

[seearesee]

I have attempted several times to set up and use an Apple iCloud account within Vivaldi Mail. Several thousand emails are indexed and then, BANG! I get the message:

IMAP connection encountered an error! Failed indexing - Error: Unexpected char at position 301

Vivaldi is only able to index back to a certain date, certain email (though I cannot confirm this email is responsible for making the index fall over). This is an IMAP account which I have successfully accessed via Apple Mail, MS Outlook (Mac and WIN), and Thunderbird (Mac, Win and Linux) over many years.

I am extremely familiar with the account settings - that is not the problem.

I have set up access via Outlook on yet one more computer - just to verify there are no issues with the account, and... there are no issues with the account.

On each deletion and re-creation of this particular IMAP account in Vivadi Mail, once the failure occurs, Vivaldi stops importing any new mail into that account. I can take the account offline then bring it back online, and the latest mail will be visible. But the indexing will have stopped again at that same historical point, the error messaging will begin to flash, and no new mail will be retreived.

I assume the position number in the error message (in my case: 301) is referring to the 301st character in whatever message is being indexed when the error occurs. ???

I have deleted what I assume to be the offending message on my local machine running Vivaldi (it is an IMAP account, so the message still exists on the server). No joy. I have deleted messages both prior and post... no joy.

Does anyone have any insight into HOW to troubleshoot this error in an attempt to resolve it?

[seearesee]

Resolved - Sort of...
I accessed my iCloud account on a separate computer. I printed out the next email in the list, the email after the last email visible in Vivaldi. I then deleted that particular email. Vivaldi resumed indexing, and completed its task successfully. Deleting a file (email) is a rather brutal way to move forward, especially considering that file does not negatively impact other mail clients. But it allows me to use Vivaldi Mail, and that is a positive thing. Of course, this does not solve the issue of Vivaldi Mail stalling upon encountering a character it does not recognize in an email it is attempting to index, and this could occur again. But now I know the power of the DELETE key!

[hinder]

I got the same problem with my iCloud mail account. Unfortunately, the trick with deleting the email didn't do it in my case.

[dannilundgren]

Good to know I am not the only only one experiencing this issue.

[thesweet]

I am also having this issue. Is there an easier way to find out what email could be causing the problem?

[eQuINDIo]

I am also having this problem. The specific character number is different, but the indexing error is the same. Here is the error text from the console:

[2023-01-12T00:51:41.621Z][imap-client] error listing messages in Inbox: Error: Unexpected char at position 509
Error: Unexpected char at position 509
at Ke.processString (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:517792)
at new Ke (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:512829)
at Ve.getAttributes (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:510818)
at Qe (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:522137)
at wt._parseIncomingCommands (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:530261)
at wt._onData (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:528419)
at u.<anonymous> (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:525857)
at u._emit (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:654157)
at u._onData (chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:652756)
at chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js:1:652508

[eQuINDIo]

Is anyone looking into this issue? This thread appears to be ignored by those that can solve the problem. Just a "hey, we're looking into the problem now" would be encouraging.

[Zalex108]

Hi,
Start with the basics:

https://help.vivaldi.com/desktop/troubleshoot/troubleshooting-issues/
Mostly, #3

--
"Off Topic Tip"
Start a Backup plan if not done so yet.
Follow the Signature's Backup | Reset.

---

Windows 7 (x64)
Vivaldi Backup | Reset + Extra Steps

[mib2berlin]

@eQuINDIo
Hi, the forum is to get feedback about an issue and if other user can reproduce it.
The mail developer read the threads often but one have to make a bug report to the bug tracker to get the attention of all mail developers.

For information on how to report a bug, see this URL: https://vvld.in/how-to-report-bugs
Once that is done, please share the bug number(beginning with VB-). Thanks.
On the form, you can add your email address. Once submitted, you'll get a confirmation. You can reply to this with any logs or further info.

Cheers, mib
EDIT: @Zalex108 is right, at least test this in a clean profile.

[eQuINDIo]

@Zalex108 I did that before I came here. The results are identical, and they match the OPs issue, with the exception of the particular character number where the error occurs.

[Zalex108]

@eQuINDIo

Then follow provided steps by @mib2berlin.

Each time you need to report any trouble, add that you've tested on a Clean Profile, it's the first step and mostly after follows the Bug Report if the issue is reproduced there too.

[eQuINDIo]

@mib2berlin I'll be reporting this as a bug. Thanks for the input.

[eQuINDIo]

@Zalex108 BTW, I also tested with a non-iCloud account, and no issues were observed. It appears to be localized to iCloud mail.

[drakfot]

I can add that I experience the same issue and added a bug report earlier ( VB-80536 on the 10th Jun 2021 so its "old").
Excerpt from the report:
[10840:10840:0610/170058.618116:ERROR:CONSOLE(1)] "Error: Unexpected char at position 872", source: chrome-extension://mpognobbkildjkofajifpdfhcoklimli/background-common-bundle.js (1)
[10840:10840:0610/170058.618529:ERROR:CONSOLE(0)] "Not connected to $1 - Attempting to connect,<EMAILREDACTED>@iCloud.Com", source: (0)

The status for it is: Your report is a duplicate of: VB-61069 "[Mail] Adding email account causes imap parsing error "Unexpected char at position 85"" - CONFIRMED

So its a known problem.
I have also tried setting it up from a clean slate ( ie no previous settings/profiles etc ) with the same result just a few days ago so the problem still persists unfortuantely. But it seems that position which where the unexpected character appears differs.

Best regards.

[bkeevins]

I removed unused and empty folders from my iCloud account and everything started to work as it should. One folder had an upside down exclamation mark in the name. I used it to keep the folder at the top of the list. Could this have been the unexpected character?

[andy122]

What is the status of VB-61069 then? Us normies don't have access to the bug tracker. This is not fixed for me. VB-61069 would be quite an old issue still unresolved.

[mib3berlin]

@eQuINDIo
Hi, can you post the bug number you get in the confirmation mail, please?
I can check the status and report back.

Cheers, mib

[mib3berlin]

@andy122
Hi, VB-61069 is confirmed and a developer is assigned.
I add a comment about the status of a fix.

Cheers, mib

[eQuINDIo]

@mib3berlin Sorry, I don't think I ever received a confirmation email. I don't have a bug number to report.

Anyway, as long as it's getting worked on...

[rambird]

I have the same error and I have followed all the troubleshooting tips and forum tips to no avail. iCloud account just keeps on looping around in a Unexpected char at position 813 and the Console output does not show any email message producing the error.

SAD but I shall have to eliminate Vivaldi from my iMac with Ventura OS!!
This error has been around since 2021 or earlier and nobody at Vivaldi has bothered to find a solution or any howto to avoid this error.
My HINT: delete all email messages from your iCloud account and hope that Vivaldi will not find an unexpected character on an empty mail server!!