HuntBee extensions fully support Unicode and emoji characters (for example 🚚 📦 🔒).
However, emoji support depends on your database configuration, not just the extension.
If emojis are saved or displayed as ????, please follow the steps below.
1. Check Database Table Collation (Very Important)
Emoji characters require utf8mb4 (4-byte UTF-8).
Older utf8 (utf8mb3) does not support emojis.
How to check (using phpMyAdmin)
- Open phpMyAdmin
- Select your OpenCart database
- Locate the HuntBee table (for example:
oc_hb_build_template) - Click the Structure tab
- Check the Collation column
Correct value
utf8mb4_unicode_ci
If the table is NOT utf8mb4
Run the following SQL query (replace table prefix if needed):
ALTER TABLE oc_hb_build_template
CONVERT TO CHARACTER SET utf8mb4
COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
Repeat this for other HuntBee tables if required.
✅ This change is safe and affects only the selected table.
2. Database Connection Charset (Required for Reading & Writing Emojis)
Even if the table is utf8mb4, emojis will still break if OpenCart uses a utf8 database connection.
OpenCart 3.x uses utf8 by default, which does not support emojis.
Solution (Core File Change)
You need to update the database connection charset to utf8mb4.
File to edit
system/library/db/mysqli.php
Find this line (connection creation)
$this->connection->set_charset('utf8');
Update it to
$this->connection->set_charset('utf8mb4');
That’s it.
3. Clear Cache & Test
After making the changes:
- Clear OpenCart cache
- Re-save the template or content
- Test with emojis like:
🚚 📦 🔒
They should now:
- Save correctly
- Display correctly
- Work in email bodies, popups, notifications, etc.
Important Notes
- This is not a bug in HuntBee extensions
- This is a known limitation of OpenCart 3.x default database settings
- Emoji support requires both:
- utf8mb4 table collation
- utf8mb4 database connection
Need Help?
If you’re unsure which tables to convert or need confirmation, feel free to contact support.