diff --git a/core/src/WriteBarcode.cpp b/core/src/WriteBarcode.cpp
index edbca52994..e39f4412d3 100644
--- a/core/src/WriteBarcode.cpp
+++ b/core/src/WriteBarcode.cpp
@@ -350,6 +350,7 @@ Barcode CreateBarcodeFromText(std::string_view contents, const CreatorOptions& o
 	auto writer = MultiFormatWriter(opts.format()).setMargin(0);
 	if (!opts.ecLevel().empty())
 		writer.setEccLevel(std::stoi(opts.ecLevel()));
+	writer.setEncoding(CharacterSet::UTF8); // write UTF8 (ECI value 26) for maximum compatibility
 
 	return CreateBarcode(writer.encode(std::string(contents), 0, IsLinearCode(opts.format()) ? 50 : 0), opts);
 }