diff --git a/pros/config/config.py b/pros/config/config.py
index 984b668a..057fd304 100644
--- a/pros/config/config.py
+++ b/pros/config/config.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def __init__(self, file, error_on_decode=False):
         if file:
             # If the file already exists, update this new config with the values in the file
             if os.path.isfile(file):
-                with open(file, 'r') as f:
+                with open(file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     try:
                         result = jsonpickle.decode(f.read())
                         if isinstance(result, dict):