diff --git a/.editorconfig b/.editorconfig
index 3b95e6dba..da1477309 100644
--- a/.editorconfig
+++ b/.editorconfig
@@ -13,5 +13,5 @@ indent_style = space
 indent_size = 4
 
 # 2 space indentation
-[*.{yaml,.yml}]
+[*.{yaml,yml}]
 indent_size = 2
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 44971fb5b..427bb887b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -273,8 +273,14 @@
     * Optimization: Initialize debugbar only after the configuration has been loaded
     * Optimization: Combine some early Grav processors into a single one
 
+# v1.6.21
+## mm/dd/2020
+
+1. [](#bugfix)
+    * Fixed encoding problems when PHP INI setting `default_charset` is not `utf-8` [#2154](https://github.com/getgrav/grav/issues/2154)
+
 # v1.6.20
-## 03/02/2020
+## 02/03/2020
 
 1. [](#bugfix)
     * Fixed incorrect routing caused by `str_replace()` in `Uri::init()` [#2754](https://github.com/getgrav/grav/issues/2754)
diff --git a/bin/gpm b/bin/gpm
index 7ad1e4ac5..88b2ee8dd 100755
--- a/bin/gpm
+++ b/bin/gpm
@@ -28,6 +28,13 @@ if (!ini_get('date.timezone')) {
     date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
 }
 
+// Set internal encoding.
+if (!\extension_loaded('mbstring')) {
+    die("'mbstring' extension is not loaded.  This is required for Grav to run correctly");
+}
+@ini_set('default_charset', 'UTF-8');
+mb_internal_encoding('UTF-8');
+
 if (!file_exists(GRAV_ROOT . '/index.php')) {
     exit('FATAL: Must be run from ROOT directory of Grav!');
 }
diff --git a/bin/grav b/bin/grav
index 7d365cbfc..4b5aee470 100755
--- a/bin/grav
+++ b/bin/grav
@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ if (version_compare($ver = PHP_VERSION, $req = GRAV_PHP_MIN, '<')) {
     exit(sprintf("You are running PHP %s, but Grav needs at least PHP %s to run.\n", $ver, $req));
 }
 
+if (!ini_get('date.timezone')) {
+    date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
+}
+
+// Set internal encoding.
+if (!\extension_loaded('mbstring')) {
+    die("'mbstring' extension is not loaded.  This is required for Grav to run correctly");
+}
+@ini_set('default_charset', 'UTF-8');
+mb_internal_encoding('UTF-8');
+
 $climate = new League\CLImate\CLImate;
 $climate->arguments->add([
     'environment' => [
@@ -42,10 +53,6 @@ $environment = $climate->arguments->get('environment');
 $grav = Grav::instance(array('loader' => $autoload));
 $grav->setup($environment);
 
-if (!ini_get('date.timezone')) {
-    date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
-}
-
 if (!file_exists(GRAV_ROOT . '/index.php')) {
     exit('FATAL: Must be run from ROOT directory of Grav!');
 }
diff --git a/bin/plugin b/bin/plugin
index 9350a1f77..5ead831b9 100755
--- a/bin/plugin
+++ b/bin/plugin
@@ -33,6 +33,13 @@ if (!ini_get('date.timezone')) {
     date_default_timezone_set('UTC');
 }
 
+// Set internal encoding.
+if (!\extension_loaded('mbstring')) {
+    die("'mbstring' extension is not loaded.  This is required for Grav to run correctly");
+}
+@ini_set('default_charset', 'UTF-8');
+mb_internal_encoding('UTF-8');
+
 if (!file_exists(GRAV_ROOT . '/index.php')) {
     exit('FATAL: Must be run from ROOT directory of Grav!');
 }
diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 633570274..59cbbcabf 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@ if (PHP_SAPI === 'cli-server') {
     }
 }
 
+// Set timezone to default, falls back to system if php.ini not set
+date_default_timezone_set(@date_default_timezone_get());
+
+// Set internal encoding.
+if (!\extension_loaded('mbstring')) {
+    die("'mbstring' extension is not loaded.  This is required for Grav to run correctly");
+}
+@ini_set('default_charset', 'UTF-8');
+mb_internal_encoding('UTF-8');
+
 // Ensure vendor libraries exist
 $autoload = __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
 if (!is_file($autoload)) {
@@ -35,15 +45,6 @@ $loader = require $autoload;
 use Grav\Common\Grav;
 use RocketTheme\Toolbox\Event\Event;
 
-// Set timezone to default, falls back to system if php.ini not set
-date_default_timezone_set(@date_default_timezone_get());
-
-// Set internal encoding if mbstring loaded
-if (!\extension_loaded('mbstring')) {
-    die("'mbstring' extension is not loaded.  This is required for Grav to run correctly");
-}
-mb_internal_encoding('UTF-8');
-
 // Get the Grav instance
 $grav = Grav::instance(
     array(
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Assets/Traits/AssetUtilsTrait.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Assets/Traits/AssetUtilsTrait.php
index c3104e690..3cd87ddcd 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Assets/Traits/AssetUtilsTrait.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Assets/Traits/AssetUtilsTrait.php
@@ -154,9 +154,9 @@ trait AssetUtilsTrait
             }
 
             if (\in_array($key, $no_key, true)) {
-                $element = htmlentities($value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8', false);
+                $element = htmlentities($value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8', false);
             } else {
-                $element = $key . '="' . htmlentities($value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8', false) . '"';
+                $element = $key . '="' . htmlentities($value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8', false) . '"';
             }
 
             $html .= ' ' . $element;
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Markdown/Excerpts.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Markdown/Excerpts.php
index f68524972..8a71f60eb 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Markdown/Excerpts.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Markdown/Excerpts.php
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ class Excerpts
      */
     public function processLinkExcerpt(array $excerpt, string $type = 'link'): array
     {
-        $url = htmlspecialchars_decode(rawurldecode($excerpt['element']['attributes']['href']));
+        $url = htmlspecialchars_decode(rawurldecode($excerpt['element']['attributes']['href']), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5);
 
         $url_parts = $this->parseUrl($url);
 
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ class Excerpts
      */
     public function processImageExcerpt(array $excerpt): array
     {
-        $url = htmlspecialchars_decode(urldecode($excerpt['element']['attributes']['src']));
+        $url = htmlspecialchars_decode(urldecode($excerpt['element']['attributes']['src']), ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5);
         $url_parts = $this->parseUrl($url);
 
         $media = null;
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Page.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Page.php
index cc05f9cc4..e319d5db9 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Page.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Page/Page.php
@@ -652,12 +652,12 @@ class Page implements PageInterface
                 return $content;
             }
 
-            return mb_strimwidth($content, 0, $size, '...', 'utf-8');
+            return mb_strimwidth($content, 0, $size, '...', 'UTF-8');
         }
 
         $summary = Utils::truncateHtml($content, $size);
 
-        return html_entity_decode($summary);
+        return html_entity_decode($summary, ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1647,7 +1647,7 @@ class Page implements PageInterface
                         $this->metadata[$prop_key] = [
                             'name' => $prop_key,
                             'property' => $prop_key,
-                            'content' => htmlspecialchars($prop_value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8')
+                            'content' => htmlspecialchars($prop_value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8')
                         ];
                     }
                 } else {
@@ -1656,16 +1656,16 @@ class Page implements PageInterface
                         if (\in_array($key, $header_tag_http_equivs, true)) {
                             $this->metadata[$key] = [
                                 'http_equiv' => $key,
-                                'content' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8')
+                                'content' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8')
                             ];
                         } elseif ($key === 'charset') {
-                            $this->metadata[$key] = ['charset' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8')];
+                            $this->metadata[$key] = ['charset' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8')];
                         } else {
                             // if it's a social metadata with separator, render as property
                             $separator = strpos($key, ':');
                             $hasSeparator = $separator && $separator < strlen($key) - 1;
                             $entry = [
-                                'content' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8')
+                                'content' => htmlspecialchars($value, ENT_QUOTES | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8')
                             ];
 
                             if ($hasSeparator && !Utils::startsWith($key, 'twitter')) {
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Twig/TwigExtension.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Twig/TwigExtension.php
index defbfbf66..ae433f0ee 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Twig/TwigExtension.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Twig/TwigExtension.php
@@ -1098,7 +1098,7 @@ class TwigExtension extends AbstractExtension implements GlobalsInterface
      */
     public function jsonDecodeFilter($str, $assoc = false, $depth = 512, $options = 0)
     {
-        return json_decode(html_entity_decode($str), $assoc, $depth, $options);
+        return json_decode(html_entity_decode($str, ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8'), $assoc, $depth, $options);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/system/src/Grav/Common/Uri.php b/system/src/Grav/Common/Uri.php
index 0b1dc73b4..52fb6b3b4 100644
--- a/system/src/Grav/Common/Uri.php
+++ b/system/src/Grav/Common/Uri.php
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ class Uri
     public function param($id, $default = false)
     {
         if (isset($this->params[$id])) {
-            return html_entity_decode(rawurldecode($this->params[$id]));
+            return html_entity_decode(rawurldecode($this->params[$id]), ENT_COMPAT | ENT_HTML5, 'UTF-8');
         }
 
         return $default;