The server fails to reset its collation state before encountering a primary ignorable Unicode character, halting the current operation.
MySQL Error 86: EE_FAILED_TO_RESET_BEFORE_PRIMARY_IGNORABLE_CHAR happens when the server cannot reset its collation iterator before a primary-ignorable Unicode character. Upgrade to 8.0.34 or apply the ICU collation patch, then rerun the statement to resolve the issue.
Failed to reset before a primary ignorable character %s. EE_FAILED_TO_RESET_BEFORE_PRIMARY_IGNORABLE_CHAR was added in 8.0.13.
This global MySQL error appears when the server's collation iterator fails to reset before a primary ignorable Unicode character such as a combining mark. The failure interrupts the SQL statement and returns error 86.
The condition name EE_FAILED_TO_RESET_BEFORE_PRIMARY_IGNORABLE_CHAR was introduced in MySQL 8.0.13 and is tied to the ICU collation engine.
It mainly affects ORDER BY, GROUP BY, and index-related operations using Unicode collations.
The error is triggered by an internal bug or misconfiguration in the ICU ordering logic.
It usually surfaces when sorting or comparing strings that begin with or contain primary ignorable characters in Unicode-based collations such as utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci.
Outdated server binaries, corrupted ICU data files, or custom collations compiled without full reset support can also provoke the fault.
The quickest remedy is to upgrade to a MySQL version where the bug is patched (8.0.34 or later).
The upgrade refreshes ICU libraries and resets internal collation tables.
If an upgrade is not possible, rebuild MySQL with a newer ICU release, or disable the problematic collation by switching affected columns to a stable alternative like utf8mb4_general_ci.
Ordering customer names that start with accents may fail on 8.0.19. Switching to utf8mb4_unicode_ci or upgrading the server fixes the issue instantly.
Bulk importing multilingual data can crash at the first primary ignorable character.
Import the data with the --skip-constraints flag, then ALTER TABLE to a safe collation post load.
Always test Unicode heavy workloads on staging after each MySQL upgrade.
Include edge cases with leading combining marks.
Pin your Docker images to a specific minor version known to be stable, and automate integration tests that sort and compare sample strings containing primary ignorable characters.
Error 184 – EE_ICU_COLLATION_ERROR occurs when the ICU engine hits a general collation fault. Upgrading ICU or switching collations solves both 184 and 86.
Error 1273 – Unknown collation 'utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci' surfaces when the target server lacks the collation included in 8.0.13+.
Replace the collation string or upgrade the server.
.
No. The operation aborts before data is written, so tables remain intact. Still, rerun integrity checks after fixing.
Not safely. The statement fails and any dependent process stops. Apply a fix to restore stability.
Often yes. Switching to a stable collation circumvents the buggy code paths, but upgrading remains the long-term solution.
Galaxy lets you version upgrade scripts, test different collations in sandbox connections, and share endorsed fixes across your team.
.avif)
.avif){kind=logo}
