diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index 35e0d6370b6..5744d8a9e39 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -2419,6 +2419,8 @@ def cmd_whatsapp(args):
                 stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
                 stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
                 text=True,
+                encoding="utf-8",
+                errors="replace",
             )
         except KeyboardInterrupt:
             print("\n  ✗ Install cancelled")