diff --git a/MeteorClient.py b/MeteorClient.py
index d16d69f..476cdf2 100644
--- a/MeteorClient.py
+++ b/MeteorClient.py
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ def login(self, user, password, token=None, callback=None):
         #       we need to authenticate
 
         # hash the password
-        hashed = hashlib.sha256(password).hexdigest()
+        hashed = hashlib.sha256(password.encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
         # handle username or email address
         if '@' in user:
             user_object = {