diff --git a/crates/typos-cli/src/file.rs b/crates/typos-cli/src/file.rs
index 85574a1..17fdbf6 100644
--- a/crates/typos-cli/src/file.rs
+++ b/crates/typos-cli/src/file.rs
@@ -472,21 +472,27 @@ fn read_file(
             (buffer, content_type)
         },
         content_inspector::ContentType::UTF_16LE => {
-            let mut decoded = String::new();
-            let (r, _) = encoding_rs::UTF_16LE.new_decoder_with_bom_removal().decode_to_string_without_replacement(&buffer, &mut decoded, true);
+            // Despite accepting a `String`, decode_to_string_without_replacement` doesn't allocate
+            // so to avoid `OutputFull` loops, we're going to assume any UTF-16 content can fit in
+            // a buffer twice its size
+            let mut decoded = String::with_capacity(buffer.len() * 2);
+            let (r, written) = encoding_rs::UTF_16LE.new_decoder_with_bom_removal().decode_to_string_without_replacement(&buffer, &mut decoded, true);
             let decoded = match r {
                 encoding_rs::DecoderResult::InputEmpty => Ok(decoded),
-                _ => Err("invalid UTF-16LE encoding"),
+                _ => Err(format!("invalid UTF-16LE encoding at byte {} in {}", written, path.display())),
             };
             let buffer = report_result(decoded, reporter)?;
             (buffer.into_bytes(), content_type)
         }
         content_inspector::ContentType::UTF_16BE => {
-            let mut decoded = String::new();
-            let (r, _) = encoding_rs::UTF_16BE.new_decoder_with_bom_removal().decode_to_string_without_replacement(&buffer, &mut decoded, true);
+            // Despite accepting a `String`, decode_to_string_without_replacement` doesn't allocate
+            // so to avoid `OutputFull` loops, we're going to assume any UTF-16 content can fit in
+            // a buffer twice its size
+            let mut decoded = String::with_capacity(buffer.len() * 2);
+            let (r, written) = encoding_rs::UTF_16BE.new_decoder_with_bom_removal().decode_to_string_without_replacement(&buffer, &mut decoded, true);
             let decoded = match r {
                 encoding_rs::DecoderResult::InputEmpty => Ok(decoded),
-                _ => Err("invalid UTF-16BE encoding"),
+                _ => Err(format!("invalid UTF-16BE encoding at byte {} in {}", written, path.display())),
             };
             let buffer = report_result(decoded, reporter)?;
             (buffer.into_bytes(), content_type)