Weird Characters in Text Files: Encoding Diagnosis

Mojibake and replacement characters often appear when a file is decoded with the wrong character encoding.

Step-by-step troubleshooting

1. 01

   Preserve raw bytes

   Save a backup before opening and resaving text in another editor.

2. 02

   Inspect any BOM

   Use Text Encoding and BOM Checker to detect UTF-8 or UTF-16 markers.

3. 03

   Check UTF-8 validity

   Invalid UTF-8 sequences may mean the file uses a legacy encoding or has damage.

4. 04

   Choose the correct encoding

   If you know the source application, reopen using its documented encoding.

5. 05

   Clean only after confirming

   The Text File Cleaner changes text output; review characters before saving a replacement.

What if the file is still broken?

Structural checks can identify evidence of truncation, checksum errors or a format mismatch, but a successful check does not prove every application can decode the file. If critical data is missing, restore from backup, request a new copy or use a reputable specialist with permission to access the content.

For important or sensitive files, retain a copy of the original and document each recovery attempt. Avoid tools that promise guaranteed reconstruction of missing bytes.

For a practical recovery order that minimizes accidental damage, see our safe file recovery checklist. For format-specific limits, see supported formats and test scope.