# Return of emoji / utf8mb4 error in Palm - /api/edx\_proctoring/v1/user\_onboarding/status issue?

**URL:** <https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402>\
**Category:** Site Operators\
**Created:** [July 14, 2024, 10:50am UTC](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402 "2024-07-14T10:50:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ABC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.openedx.org/abc/32/4946_2.png) [@ABC](https://discuss.openedx.org/u/ABC)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 10:50am UTC](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402/1 "2024-07-14T10:50:50Z")

</div>

After upgrading to Palm, I’ve fixed most of the issues, but a student just brought up that two classes out of 20 are not having their course outline expanding correctly. I can see all the content is still there when I view the class in studio, but for students they just see no sub-sections when expanding a class. (I tried just editing something in one of the classes and publishing, but that didn’t make a difference, the error persists.)

The following HTTP 404 errors appear in the logs on my tutor-based instance:

```auto
caddy-1 | {"level":"error","ts":1720953424.9592848,"logger":"http.log.access.log0","msg":"handled request","request":{"remote_ip":"123.123.123.123","remote_port":"58740","proto":"HTTP/2.0","method":"GET","host":"mysite.com","uri":"/api/edx_proctoring/v1/user_onboarding/status?is_learning_mfe=true&course_id=course-v1%3AORGNAME%2BCLASSNAME%2BV1&username=AdminUser1","tls":{"resumed":false,"version":772,"cipher_suite":4865,"proto":"h2","server_name":"mysite.com"}},"user_id":"","duration":0.069601494,"size":67,"status":404}
lms-1 | [pid: 6|app: 0|req: 39/135] 172.18.0.3 () {62 vars in 3552 bytes} [Sun Jul 14 10:37:04 2024] GET /api/edx_proctoring/v1/user_onboarding/status?is_learning_mfe=true&course_id=course-v1%3AORGNAME%2BCLASSNAME%2BV1&username=AdminUser1 => generated 67 bytes in 69 msecs (HTTP/1.1 404) 9 headers in 442 bytes (1 switches on core 0)

```

So does anyone know what could cause 404 errors for `/api/edx_proctoring/v1/user_onboarding/status?is_learning_mfe=true&course_id=course-v1%3AORGNAME%2BCLASSNAME%2BV1&username=AdminUser1`?

**Note** : To eliminate the possibility that this is something to do with the indigo theme I’m using, I disabled the theme, but the error continues to happen.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ABC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.openedx.org/abc/32/4946_2.png) [@ABC](https://discuss.openedx.org/u/ABC)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402/2 "2024-07-14T13:07:45Z")

</div>

@Abdess this seems to apparently be the reintroduction of the MySQL emoji issue after I upgraded a Lilac instance to Palm. ☹ Which is really weird, since I think I did everything the same as a Nutmeg upgrade to Palm, which is working fine. Can you confirm these are the correct steps from [here](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/upgrading-mysql-charset-to-utf8mb4/7927/2) (since the steps seem to be spread across multiple threads):

1. Backup & edit database definition to find and replace things with utf8mb4:

```auto
docker exec tutor_local_mysql_1 /usr/bin/mysqldump -Q -d -uroot -p`echo $(tutor config printvalue MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD)` --default-character-set=utf8 --skip-set-charset openedx | sed 's/utf8/utf8mb4/gi' | sed 's/utf8mb4mb4/utf8mb4/gi' | sed 's/utf8mb4mb3/utf8mb4/gi' > openedx_schema.sql
docker exec tutor_local_mysql_1 /usr/bin/mysqldump -Q --insert-ignore -t -uroot -p`echo $(tutor config printvalue MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD)` --default-character-set=utf8 --skip-set-charset openedx > openedx_data.sql

```

( **Note:** One time I got an error on import about utf8mb4mb3 and I found only 4 instances of it in the openedx\_schema.sql above. I’m not sure how that occurred, other than that perhaps some table has changed to being defined as utf8mb3 and the original regex didn’t account for it? So I added the extra `sed 's/utf8mb4mb3/utf8mb4/gi'` just in case.)

1. Drop existing database and recreate with new collation

```auto
tutor local stop
tutor local start mysql -d
tutor local run mysql bash
mysql -uroot -pPASSWORD --host "mysql" --port 3306
DROP DATABASE openedx;
create database openedx default charset utf8mb4 collate utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci;
exit
exit

```

1. Re-import data:

```auto
cat ~/openedx_schema.sql | docker exec -i tutor-local-mysql-1 /usr/bin/mysql -u root --password=`echo $(tutor config printvalue MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD)` openedx
cat ~/openedx_data.sql | docker exec -i tutor-local-mysql-1 /usr/bin/mysql -u root --password=`echo $(tutor config printvalue MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD)` openedx

```

1. Install & enable your tutor plugin to fix tutor launch of mysqld:

```auto
tutor plugins install https://gist.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/3ed9ed1d42821d00a5cf2481870df26f/raw/tutor-mysql8utf8mb4.yml
tutor plugins enable mysql8utf8mb4
tutor config save
tutor local launch

```

(Note: the post I’m citing mentioned something about changing .local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/config/partials/auth.yml to have `DATABASES[‘default’][‘OPTIONS’][‘charset’] = ‘utf8mb4’`, however I never did that on my Nutmeg → Palm upgrade and it seems to be working fine, so I don’t think that’s required?)

I did all that before I did the upgrade to Palm, but apparently I hadn’t tested my two emoji-in-title–using classes. I then re-did these steps on a copy of my Palm server, but they don’t fix things fully, and I still get errors like:

```auto
django.db.utils.OperationalError: (1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA5\\xB7CV...' for column 'display_name' at row 1")

```

So I know it’s still the 4-byte-encoding/emoji error 🙁. So I’m hoping you can spot a step I missed? (Or do you know how I can check the status of tables to confirm they got correctly migrated to using utf8mb4?)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ABC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.openedx.org/abc/32/4946_2.png) [@ABC](https://discuss.openedx.org/u/ABC)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402/3 "2024-07-21T17:34:14Z")

</div>

Based on the following error message which I can now reproduce reliably if I change something about a class’ Advanced Settings, _ **I now think this has to do with Django not knowing how to connect to the db as utf8mb4** _. But I don’t know how to force Django to connect correctly on Palm, since there’s conflicting steps listed on [other threads](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/upgrading-mysql-charset-to-utf8mb4/7927/8).

```auto
cms-worker-1 | [2024-07-21 16:22:15,710: INFO/ForkPoolWorker-1] Replacing CourseOutline for course-v1:MYORG+MYCLASS+V1 (version 669d34c1508444f20f6e1b84, 40 sequences)
cms-worker-1 | [2024-07-21 16:22:15,719: INFO/ForkPoolWorker-1] Found CourseContext for course-v1:MYORG+MYCLASS+V1, updating...
cms-worker-1 | [2024-07-21 16:22:15,901: ERROR/ForkPoolWorker-1] cms.djangoapps.contentstore.tasks.update_outline_from_modulestore_task[9dc63219-231f-4a2c-8ddd-8dbd889356f3]: Could not create course outline for course course-v1:MYORG+MYCLASS+V1
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 581, in get_or_create
cms-worker-1 | return self.get(**kwargs), False
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 435, in get
cms-worker-1 | raise self.model.DoesNotExist(
cms-worker-1 | openedx.core.djangoapps.content.learning_sequences.models.LearningSequence.DoesNotExist: LearningSequence matching query does not exist.
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/mysql/base.py", line 73, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(query, args)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 206, in execute
cms-worker-1 | res = self._query(query)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 319, in _query
cms-worker-1 | db.query(q)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/connections.py", line 254, in query
cms-worker-1 | _mysql.connection.query(self, query)
cms-worker-1 | MySQLdb.OperationalError: (1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA7\\xA0Br...' for column 'title' at row 1")
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tasks.py", line 723, in update_outline_from_modulestore_task
cms-worker-1 | update_outline_from_modulestore(course_key)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/outlines.py", line 385, in update_outline_from_modulestore
cms-worker-1 | replace_course_outline(course_outline_data, content_errors=content_errors)
cms-worker-1 | File "/opt/pyenv/versions/3.8.15/lib/python3.8/contextlib.py", line 75, in inner
cms-worker-1 | return func(*args, **kwds)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/openedx/core/djangoapps/content/learning_sequences/api/outlines.py", line 406, in replace_course_outline
cms-worker-1 | _update_sequences(course_outline, course_context)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/openedx/core/djangoapps/content/learning_sequences/api/outlines.py", line 474, in _update_sequences
cms-worker-1 | LearningSequence.objects.update_or_create(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/manager.py", line 85, in manager_method
cms-worker-1 | return getattr(self.get_queryset(), name)(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 608, in update_or_create
cms-worker-1 | obj, created = self.select_for_update().get_or_create(defaults, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 588, in get_or_create
cms-worker-1 | return self.create(**params), True
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 453, in create
cms-worker-1 | obj.save(force_insert=True, using=self.db)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/model_utils/models.py", line 38, in save
cms-worker-1 | super().save(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 739, in save
cms-worker-1 | self.save_base(using=using, force_insert=force_insert,
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 776, in save_base
cms-worker-1 | updated = self._save_table(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 881, in _save_table
cms-worker-1 | results = self._do_insert(cls._base_manager, using, fields, returning_fields, raw)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 919, in _do_insert
cms-worker-1 | return manager._insert(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/manager.py", line 85, in manager_method
cms-worker-1 | return getattr(self.get_queryset(), name)(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 1270, in _insert
cms-worker-1 | return query.get_compiler(using=using).execute_sql(returning_fields)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/sql/compiler.py", line 1416, in execute_sql
cms-worker-1 | cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 66, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self._execute_with_wrappers(sql, params, many=False, executor=self._execute)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 75, in _execute_with_wrappers
cms-worker-1 | return executor(sql, params, many, context)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/utils.py", line 90, in __exit__
cms-worker-1 | raise dj_exc_value.with_traceback(traceback) from exc_value
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/mysql/base.py", line 73, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(query, args)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 206, in execute
cms-worker-1 | res = self._query(query)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 319, in _query
cms-worker-1 | db.query(q)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/connections.py", line 254, in query
cms-worker-1 | _mysql.connection.query(self, query)
cms-worker-1 | django.db.utils.OperationalError: (1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA7\\xA0Br...' for column 'title' at row 1")
cms-worker-1 | [2024-07-21 16:22:15,906: ERROR/ForkPoolWorker-1] Task cms.djangoapps.contentstore.tasks.update_outline_from_modulestore_task[9dc63219-231f-4a2c-8ddd-8dbd889356f3] raised unexpected: OperationalError(1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA7\\xA0Br...' for column 'title' at row 1")
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 581, in get_or_create
cms-worker-1 | return self.get(**kwargs), False
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 435, in get
cms-worker-1 | raise self.model.DoesNotExist(
cms-worker-1 | openedx.core.djangoapps.content.learning_sequences.models.LearningSequence.DoesNotExist: LearningSequence matching query does not exist.
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/mysql/base.py", line 73, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(query, args)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 206, in execute
cms-worker-1 | res = self._query(query)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 319, in _query
cms-worker-1 | db.query(q)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/connections.py", line 254, in query
cms-worker-1 | _mysql.connection.query(self, query)
cms-worker-1 | MySQLdb.OperationalError: (1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA7\\xA0Br...' for column 'title' at row 1")
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
cms-worker-1 | 
cms-worker-1 | Traceback (most recent call last):
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/celery/app/trace.py", line 451, in trace_task
cms-worker-1 | R = retval = fun(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/celery/app/trace.py", line 734, in __protected_call__
cms-worker-1 | return self.run(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/edx_django_utils/monitoring/internal/code_owner/utils.py", line 193, in new_function
cms-worker-1 | return wrapped_function(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/tasks.py", line 723, in update_outline_from_modulestore_task
cms-worker-1 | update_outline_from_modulestore(course_key)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/outlines.py", line 385, in update_outline_from_modulestore
cms-worker-1 | replace_course_outline(course_outline_data, content_errors=content_errors)
cms-worker-1 | File "/opt/pyenv/versions/3.8.15/lib/python3.8/contextlib.py", line 75, in inner
cms-worker-1 | return func(*args, **kwds)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/openedx/core/djangoapps/content/learning_sequences/api/outlines.py", line 406, in replace_course_outline
cms-worker-1 | _update_sequences(course_outline, course_context)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/edx-platform/openedx/core/djangoapps/content/learning_sequences/api/outlines.py", line 474, in _update_sequences
cms-worker-1 | LearningSequence.objects.update_or_create(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/manager.py", line 85, in manager_method
cms-worker-1 | return getattr(self.get_queryset(), name)(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 608, in update_or_create
cms-worker-1 | obj, created = self.select_for_update().get_or_create(defaults, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 588, in get_or_create
cms-worker-1 | return self.create(**params), True
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 453, in create
cms-worker-1 | obj.save(force_insert=True, using=self.db)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/model_utils/models.py", line 38, in save
cms-worker-1 | super().save(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 739, in save
cms-worker-1 | self.save_base(using=using, force_insert=force_insert,
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 776, in save_base
cms-worker-1 | updated = self._save_table(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 881, in _save_table
cms-worker-1 | results = self._do_insert(cls._base_manager, using, fields, returning_fields, raw)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/base.py", line 919, in _do_insert
cms-worker-1 | return manager._insert(
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/manager.py", line 85, in manager_method
cms-worker-1 | return getattr(self.get_queryset(), name)(*args, **kwargs)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/query.py", line 1270, in _insert
cms-worker-1 | return query.get_compiler(using=using).execute_sql(returning_fields)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/models/sql/compiler.py", line 1416, in execute_sql
cms-worker-1 | cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 66, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self._execute_with_wrappers(sql, params, many=False, executor=self._execute)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 75, in _execute_with_wrappers
cms-worker-1 | return executor(sql, params, many, context)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/utils.py", line 90, in __exit__
cms-worker-1 | raise dj_exc_value.with_traceback(traceback) from exc_value
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/utils.py", line 84, in _execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(sql, params)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/django/db/backends/mysql/base.py", line 73, in execute
cms-worker-1 | return self.cursor.execute(query, args)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 206, in execute
cms-worker-1 | res = self._query(query)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/cursors.py", line 319, in _query
cms-worker-1 | db.query(q)
cms-worker-1 | File "/openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/MySQLdb/connections.py", line 254, in query
cms-worker-1 | _mysql.connection.query(self, query)
cms-worker-1 | django.db.utils.OperationalError: (1366, "Incorrect string value: '\\xF0\\x9F\\xA7\\xA0Br...' for column 'title' at row 1")
cms-worker-1 | [2024-07-21 16:22:15,935: WARNING/ForkPoolWorker-1] /openedx/venv/lib/python3.8/site-packages/elasticsearch/connection/base.py:208: ElasticsearchWarning: Elasticsearch built-in security features are not enabled. Without authentication, your cluster could be accessible to anyone. See https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/7.17/security-minimal-setup.html to enable security.
cms-worker-1 | warnings.warn(message, category=ElasticsearchWarning)

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ABC](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/discuss.openedx.org/abc/32/4946_2.png) [@ABC](https://discuss.openedx.org/u/ABC)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 11:47am UTC](https://discuss.openedx.org/t/return-of-emoji-utf8mb4-error-in-palm-api-edx-proctoring-v1-user-onboarding-status-issue/13402/4 "2024-08-02T11:47:26Z")

</div>

In the end I solved this (hackishly) by editing  
`.local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/tutor/templates/apps/openedx/config/partials/auth.yml`  
and removing some sort of conditional it had

```auto
      {%- if RUN_MYSQL %}
      charset: "utf8mb3"
      {%- endif %}

```

and replacing that with just

```auto
      charset: "utf8mb4"

```

(This being under the DATABASES → default → OPTIONS heading)

This doesn’t really make sense still though, as to why it works with no change my beta Palm platform and it doesn’t work on the production Palm patform. `My .local/share/tutor/config.yml` has `RUN_MYSQL: false` in both cases…