How to Fix Unknown collation: utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci in cPanel

If you use MySQL or MariaDB, you might have encountered the following error:

Unknown collation: 'utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci'


 Why This Happens

This error usually occurs when you try to import a database from a newer MySQL/MariaDB version into an older version. For example:

• MySQL 8.0 → MariaDB 10.3

 Step-by-Step Solution

1. Upload the SQL File

First, upload your database .sql file via cPanel → File Manager.

2. Open Terminal

Go to Terminal in cPanel.

3. Navigate to the Folder

Change directory to the folder where the .sql file was uploaded:

cd path/to/your/folder


Replace path/to/your/folder with the actual folder path.

4. Run the Replacement Command

Execute the following command to fix the collation:

sed -e 's/utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci/utf8mb4_unicode_ci/g' -i myfilename.sql

Replace myfilename.sql with your actual SQL file name.

This command replaces all instances of utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci with utf8mb4_unicode_ci in the SQL file.

5. Download and Import

Download the modified SQL file from File Manager and import it again via phpMyAdmin.

 Result

Your database will now import successfully without the “Unknown collation: ‘utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci’” error.