The data could not be converted to UTF-8 (wordpress 2.9)

yeah same problem … i got message “RSS Error: The data could not be converted to UTF-8”

Likewise for me.

yep. hopefully there’s a solution guys.

anyone know a resolution?

I also am seeing this. Even the WordPress links for development blog and news on the dashboard show the error: RSS Error: The data could not be converted to UTF-8

I had my host update the PHP version on my hosting account from 4.x to 5 and now the feeds show up properly on the dashboard, on my blog, and the video embed based on a url works properly. I would say that several functions in WordPress 2.9 require php 5.x to work properly

GoDaddy instructions for php version change: https://help.godaddy.com/article/3937

WordPress is not supposed to need php 5. This needs further investigation.

… and it looks like there is a discussion already going at https://core.trac.www.ads-software.com/ticket/11219

thanks miqro. i’ll look into that discussion. and you’re right. wordpress isn’t supposed to need php 5.

To help boil this down for anyone trying to read the Trac thread:

One aspect of this bug is that there is a requirement for either of these two PHP modules to be installed: iconv or mbstring. If your server is missing both of them, in any version of PHP, then that may be part of the cause of these errors.

I noticed another peculiarity, though I know it is better addressed in another post; After the upgrade, WordPress Stats started tracking my admin visits to my other pages. I logged out and logged back in again, and this seems to have fixed this. Anecdotally anyway.

See also: https://core.trac.www.ads-software.com/ticket/11518

Please be gentle with the core devs. Merely mention that it affected you.

thanks everyone. this is all alien speak to me so i’m hoping it gets resolved in a way that i can comprehend lol

I did what “bwnunnally” suggested (I’m also hosted on GoDaddy so it was pretty easy)and it worked for me too. Maybe WordPress 2.9 does need some PHP5…or maybe it just needs it for now, until the devs find a good solution for those using PHP4.

In any case, changing to PHP5 works for me. As long as it doesn’t cause other issues with other plugins, etc.

yep, php5 should be. and it is time to work on fresher solutions ??

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please try this as a fix:

https://www.semiologic.com/2009/12/21/wp-2-9-three-bugs-and-how-to-fix-them/