diff --git a/qt/aqt/__init__.py b/qt/aqt/__init__.py
index 803fd5691..bcf489fc5 100644
--- a/qt/aqt/__init__.py
+++ b/qt/aqt/__init__.py
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ from aqt.utils import locale_dir
 
 assert anki.buildinfo.buildhash == aqt.buildinfo.buildhash
 
+# we want to be able to print unicode debug info to console without
+# fear of a traceback on systems with the console set to ASCII
+sys.stdout.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8")  # type: ignore
+sys.stderr.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8")  # type: ignore
+
 appVersion = _version
 appWebsite = "https://apps.ankiweb.net/"
 appChanges = "https://apps.ankiweb.net/docs/changes.html"