diff --git a/hgext/phabricator.py b/hgext/phabricator.py
--- a/hgext/phabricator.py
+++ b/hgext/phabricator.py
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
     parser,
     patch,
     phases,
+    pycompat,
     registrar,
     scmutil,
     smartset,
@@ -219,7 +220,8 @@
         with contextlib.closing(urlopener.open(request)) as rsp:
             body = rsp.read()
     repo.ui.debug(b'Conduit Response: %s\n' % body)
-    parsed = json.loads(body)
+    parsed = pycompat.rapply(lambda x: encoding.unitolocal(x)
+                             if isinstance(x, unicode) else x, json.loads(body))
     if parsed.get(r'error_code'):
         msg = (_(b'Conduit Error (%s): %s')
                % (parsed[r'error_code'], parsed[r'error_info']))
@@ -251,7 +253,7 @@
                         {b'constraints': {b'callsigns': [callsign]}})
     if len(query[r'data']) == 0:
         return None
-    repophid = encoding.strtolocal(query[r'data'][0][r'phid'])
+    repophid = query[r'data'][0][r'phid']
     repo.ui.setconfig(b'phabricator', b'repophid', repophid)
     return repophid
 
@@ -305,8 +307,8 @@
         drevs = [drev for force, precs, drev in toconfirm.values()]
         alldiffs = callconduit(unfi, b'differential.querydiffs',
                                {b'revisionIDs': drevs})
-        getnode = lambda d: bin(encoding.unitolocal(
-            getdiffmeta(d).get(r'node', b''))) or None
+        getnode = lambda d: bin(
+            getdiffmeta(d).get(r'node', b'')) or None
         for newnode, (force, precset, drev) in toconfirm.items():
             diffs = [d for d in alldiffs.values()
                      if int(d[r'revisionID']) == drev]
@@ -582,7 +584,6 @@
                 drevid = drevids[i]
                 drev = [d for d in drevs if int(d[r'id']) == drevid][0]
                 newdesc = getdescfromdrev(drev)
-                newdesc = encoding.unitolocal(newdesc)
                 # Make sure commit message contain "Differential Revision"
                 if old.description() != newdesc:
                     if old.phase() == phases.public:
@@ -923,7 +924,7 @@
                 header += b'# %s %s\n' % (_metanamemap[k], meta[k])
 
         content = b'%s%s\n%s' % (header, desc, body)
-        write(encoding.unitolocal(content))
+        write(content)
 
 @vcrcommand(b'phabread',
          [(b'', b'stack', False, _(b'read dependencies'))],