Subtitle Encoding Repair
Fix garbled accents and 'mojibake' by detecting the file's real encoding and re-decoding it correctly to UTF-8. Compare before and after, then download the fix.
100% private. Your files are processed locally in your browser and never uploaded to a server.
Drop a subtitle file
or click to browse · SRT, VTT, ASS/SSA
What this tool does
"Mojibake" is the garbled text you get when a file is read using the wrong character encoding:
café turns into café or caf�. Older subtitles are often
saved in Windows-1252 or ISO-8859-1 instead of UTF-8. This tool reads the raw bytes, detects the
original encoding, and re-decodes the text correctly into modern UTF-8.
When you'd use it
- Accented letters (é, ñ, ü), curly quotes or dashes show up as strange symbols or question marks.
- A subtitle file from an older source displays fine in one player but breaks in another.
- You're standardising a subtitle collection to UTF-8.
How it works
The file's bytes are analysed to guess the source encoding, then decoded with the browser's built-in decoder. If the file is already valid UTF-8, the tool tells you and leaves it untouched rather than risking damage. Everything happens locally. Your file is never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the accented characters in my subtitles garbled?
The file was saved in a non-UTF-8 encoding, often Windows-1252 or ISO-8859-1. SubAlign detects the real encoding from the bytes and re-decodes the text correctly to UTF-8.
What is mojibake?
Mojibake is the garbled text, such as “café” instead of “café”, that appears when a file is read using the wrong character encoding.
Will this damage a subtitle file that is already correct?
No. If the file is already valid UTF-8, the tool tells you and leaves it untouched rather than risking any change.