Fix CSV Encoding and Save the File as UTF-8

What this fixes, and what it can't: Reads the file in the right encoding and saves it as UTF-8. It cannot recover letters already replaced by ? marks.

Encoding is how a file stores its letters as bytes. When a program guesses it wrong, café turns into café and an importer rejects the file. Drop the CSV below to read it correctly, repair the garbled text and download a clean UTF-8 copy.

Quick Answer: CSVUndo fixes CSV encoding problems in your browser. It detects how the file was saved, reads it that way, repairs garbled text such as café back to café, and downloads the result as UTF-8. Nothing is uploaded. Characters already replaced by a question mark cannot be recovered, so those need a fresh export.

Free. No signup. Your file never leaves this tab. Prove it in 30 seconds →

Drop your CSV here or click to choose a file
…or paste the data straight into the box below

Prefer a real file? Download a broken sample: garbled characters. All samples.

Output options (optional)
Output options for the repaired file

🔒 Your file never leaves this browser. Try it: turn Wi-Fi off after this page loads, then repair a file. Prove it in 30 seconds →

How to fix it in four steps

  1. Drop or paste your file. Drop your CSV on the box above, or paste its text into the box. It stays in this tab.
  2. See the damage. Click the button under the box to see what Excel broke, then untick any repair you do not want.
  3. Repair and check. Click Repair & preview. Read the before and after table: each old value is struck through, with the new value beside it.
  4. Download the fixed file. Say where the file is going next, then click Download fixed file. Your original file is not changed.

A worked example

A contact list shows Renée in the name column. The bytes for é are intact, but they were read with the wrong encoding. The tool reverses that, so the cell reads Renée, and the table shows the old and new values side by side. The download is saved as UTF-8.

A different file might show accents correctly here while looking wrong in another program. That usually means it was saved as Windows-1252, often labelled ANSI. The tool detects that, names it above the results, and saves your copy as UTF-8.

What this cannot fix

Prevent it next time

  1. In Excel, save with File → Save As → CSV UTF-8, not plain CSV.
  2. Open CSV files through Data → From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8 as the file origin.
  3. Ask whoever sends you the export to supply UTF-8, which most systems can do.

More help

Only want to know what encoding a file uses, without changing it? Use the CSV encoding checker. For the background, read how to change CSV encoding to UTF-8 and ANSI vs UTF-8.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change a CSV file to UTF-8?

Drop the file on this page and click Repair & preview, then Download fixed file. The tool detects the current encoding, reads the file with it and saves the download as UTF-8. Your original file is not changed.

Why does my CSV show strange characters like café?

The file was saved as UTF-8 and then read with a different encoding, so one letter was shown as two. The bytes usually survive, which is why this tool can reverse the damage and show you each repaired cell.

Can question marks in a CSV be turned back into letters?

No. A question mark or replacement character means the original letter was thrown away when the file was saved. Export the file again from its source and save it as UTF-8.

Is my file uploaded to fix the encoding?

No. The file is read and repaired in your browser tab, and nothing is sent to a server. You can switch off your Wi-Fi after the page loads, and it still works.