How do I replace DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 on Joomla 4 or 6?

Joomla 4+ and MySQL 8 expect utf8mb4. Plain utf8 cannot store emoji and some names. Use DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4. Use utf8mb4 in CREATE TABLE. Convert existing tables with a planned ALTER (backup first).

Why does utf8 (3-byte) instead of utf8mb4 break after migrating from Joomla 3?

Joomla 4+ and MySQL 8 expect utf8mb4. Plain utf8 cannot store emoji and some names. People notice: emoji becomes ???, utf8 charset.

SQL-UTF8MB4-001

DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8

utf8 (3-byte) instead of utf8mb4

Joomla 4+ and MySQL 8 expect utf8mb4. Plain utf8 cannot store emoji and some names.

DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 → DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4

Dies at Joomla 3 → 4J3: Works nativelyJ4: Changed behaviourJ6: Changed behaviourBC plugin: not applicableMechanical renameSQL / schema

What you will see

Incorrect string value

Symptoms people search

emoji becomes ??? · utf8 charset

Replace this code

Swap DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 for DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4.

Joomla 3

Remove or stop calling this

CREATE TABLE `#__lms` (...) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

Joomla 4 / 6

Use this instead

CREATE TABLE `#__lms` (...) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

How to fix it

1Use utf8mb4 in CREATE TABLE.
2Convert existing tables with a planned ALTER (backup first).

Also known as

utf8mb4 · CHARSET=utf8

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DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8

What you will see

Symptoms people search

Replace this code

How to fix it

Also known as

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