Outlook 2016 - chinese characters appearing in messages when replying/forwarding

Yes, it works!!!

No joy with us - the locale and Outlook language options are both set to English (United Kingdom).  A couple of tests have shown a link with downloading external content.  We use McAfee and it has started appending a line at the bottom of emails:

However, this morning instead of chinese characters appearing the outgoing emails are totally blank.  When we "Reply" to an email, we get the warning that some content is on an external server - in this case it is the Mcafee logo which links back to their site.  A few quick tests seem to work if we do not download the external content. 

I'd seen this thread while casting around: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2854787/email-message-body-is-blank-in-outlook

There was a COM add in "Mcafee  Addin" which we have disabled and will see if that makes a difference.

I just starting getting this when I upgraded to office 2019, it only happens so far when I "share" a document via attachment, then the body of the message is always:

格浴浸湬㩳㵶產湲猺档浥獡洭捩潲潳瑦挭浯瘺汭•浸湬㩳㵯產湲猺档浥獡洭捩潲潳瑦挭浯漺晦捩㩥景楦散•浸湬㩳㵷產湲猺档浥獡洭捩潲潳瑦挭浯漺晦捩㩥潷摲•浸湬㩳㵭栢瑴㩰⼯捳敨慭⹳業牣獯景⹴潣⽭景楦散㈯〰⼴㈱漯浭≬砠汭獮∽瑨灴⼺眯睷眮⸳牯⽧剔刯䍅栭浴㑬∰㰾敨摡㰾敭慴栠瑴⵰煥極㵶潃瑮湥⵴祔数挠湯整瑮∽整瑸栯浴㭬挠慨獲瑥甽⵳獡楣≩㰾敭慴渠浡㵥敇敮慲潴⁲潣瑮湥㵴䴢捩潲潳瑦圠牯⁤㔱⠠楦瑬牥摥洠摥畩⥭㸢猼祴敬㰾ⴡഭ⼊‪潆瑮䐠晥湩瑩潩獮⨠യ䀊潦瑮昭捡൥ऊ晻湯⵴慦業祬∺慃扭楲⁡慍桴㬢਍瀉湡獯ⵥ㨱′‴‵″‵‴‶″′㬴ൽ䀊潦瑮昭捡൥ऊ晻湯⵴慦業祬䌺污扩楲഻ऊ慰潮敳ㄭ㈺ㄠ‵‵′′′‴″′㬴ൽ⼊‪瑓汹⁥敄楦楮楴湯⁳⼪਍⹰獍乯牯慭ⱬ氠⹩獍乯牯慭ⱬ搠癩䴮潳潎浲污਍笉慭杲湩〺湩഻ऊ慭杲湩戭瑯潴㩭〮〰瀱㭴਍昉湯⵴楳敺ㄺ⸱瀰㭴਍昉湯⵴慦業祬∺慃楬牢≩猬湡⵳敳楲㭦਍洉潳昭牡慥瑳氭湡畧条㩥久唭㭓ൽ愊氺湩Ⱬ猠慰⹮獍䡯灹牥楬歮਍笉獭ⵯ瑳汹ⵥ牰潩楲祴㤺㬹਍按汯牯⌺㔰㌶ㅃ഻ऊ整瑸搭捥牯瑡潩㩮湵敤汲湩㭥ൽ愊瘺獩瑩摥灳湡䴮潳祈数汲湩䙫汯潬敷൤ऊ浻潳猭祴敬瀭楲牯瑩㩹㤹഻ऊ潣潬㩲㤣㐵㝆㬲਍琉硥⵴敤潣慲楴湯町摮牥楬敮紻਍灳湡䔮慭汩瑓汹ㅥഷऊ浻潳猭祴敬琭灹㩥数獲湯污挭浯潰敳഻ऊ潦瑮昭浡汩㩹䌢污扩楲Ⱒ慳獮猭牥晩഻ऊ潣潬㩲楷摮睯整瑸紻਍䴮潳桃䑰晥畡瑬਍笉獭ⵯ瑳汹ⵥ祴数攺灸牯⵴湯祬഻ऊ潦瑮昭浡汩㩹䌢污扩楲Ⱒ慳獮猭牥晩഻ऊ獭ⵯ慦敲獡⵴慬杮慵敧䔺ⵎ单紻਍灀条⁥潗摲敓瑣潩ㅮ਍笉楳敺㠺㔮湩ㄠ⸱椰㭮਍洉牡楧㩮⸱椰⸱椰⸱椰⸱椰㭮ൽ搊癩圮牯卤捥楴湯റऊ灻条㩥潗摲敓瑣潩ㅮ紻਍ⴭ㰾猯祴敬㰾ⴡ嬭晩朠整洠潳㤠㹝砼汭ാ㰊㩯桳灡摥晥畡瑬⁳㩶硥㵴攢楤≴猠楰浤硡∽〱㘲•㸯਍⼼浸㹬ℼ敛摮晩ⵝ㸭ℼⴭ楛⁦瑧⁥獭崹㰾浸㹬਍漼猺慨数慬潹瑵瘠攺瑸∽摥瑩㸢਍漼椺浤灡瘠攺瑸∽摥瑩•慤慴∽∱⼠ാ㰊漯猺慨数慬潹瑵㰾砯汭㰾嬡湥楤嵦ⴭ㰾栯慥㹤戼摯⁹慬杮䔽ⵎ䅃氠湩㵫⌢㔰㌶ㅃ•汶湩㵫⌢㔹䘴㈷㸢搼癩挠慬獳圽牯卤捥楴湯㸱瀼挠慬獳䴽潳潎浲污㰾㩯㹰渦獢㭰⼼㩯㹰⼼㹰⼼楤㹶⼼潢祤㰾栯浴㹬

Vanessa - 

Perhaps a coder at Microsoft left it in by accident.  It should be pretty easy for them to find it in the source code

https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/5pp9pf/chinese\_english\_weird\_text\_found\_in\_outlook\_email/:

<DIV lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align="left" DIR="LTR"> <FONT Face="C" Size=2>-<BR> <B>F</B> B <BR> <B>S</B> M<BR> <B>T</B> H<BR> <B>S</B> R<BR> </FONT> </DIV><DIV></DIV>

I think the fact that the text is arbitrary and the same for many people on the internet is a pretty clear indication that this was accidentally included in the product.  

Please escalate to engineering.  I just found the same thing in Outlook at our organization.  To my knowledge I am the first person to experience it.

It does appear to be at least 14 years old though, as I find an occurance of this text in a 2004 email from:

****Personal Information Removed*******:

****Personal Information Removed*******

It crops up every now and again.  The source seems to have something to do with Exchange.  Someone somewhere probably knows the answer...  Good luck with the regression tests!  :-)

Hello,

We found a resolution of sorts to this issue from the Office 365 backend team. This issue is known to them and it is a feature at the moment:

Solution

The behaviour you've noticed is a characteristic of the product that, at this moment, cannot be changed.  

Workaround

The Chinese character issue does NOT repeat if a user replies to the email sent to the Group from the Groups view in Outlook, or from the O365 Group Conversation view in browser, or from OWA or from phone. Only when replies are sent from personal inboxes based on the O365 Group's "Subscribe" functionality.

They said the issue could be found somewhere in here: https://office365.uservoice.com/forums/286611-office-365-groups. We will go vote on issue to be resolved hopefully soon.

BR,

Sam