diff --git a/app/routes/api.py b/app/routes/api.py
index 42cbdc9..92110f9 100644
--- a/app/routes/api.py
+++ b/app/routes/api.py
@@ -96,10 +96,12 @@ def send_message():
             }), 400
 
         # MeshCore message length limit (~180-200 bytes for LoRa)
-        if len(text) > 200:
+        # Count UTF-8 bytes, not Unicode characters
+        byte_length = len(text.encode('utf-8'))
+        if byte_length > 200:
             return jsonify({
                 'success': False,
-                'error': f'Message too long ({len(text)} chars). Maximum 200 characters allowed due to LoRa constraints.'
+                'error': f'Message too long ({byte_length} bytes). Maximum 200 bytes allowed due to LoRa constraints.'
             }), 400
 
         reply_to = data.get('reply_to')
diff --git a/app/static/js/app.js b/app/static/js/app.js
index 208d327..a696ac3 100644
--- a/app/static/js/app.js
+++ b/app/static/js/app.js
@@ -398,21 +398,24 @@ function formatTime(timestamp) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Update character counter
+ * Update character counter (counts UTF-8 bytes, not characters)
  */
 function updateCharCounter() {
     const input = document.getElementById('messageInput');
     const counter = document.getElementById('charCounter');
-    const length = input.value.length;
-    const maxLength = 200;
 
-    counter.textContent = `${length} / ${maxLength}`;
+    // Count UTF-8 bytes, not Unicode characters
+    const encoder = new TextEncoder();
+    const byteLength = encoder.encode(input.value).length;
+    const maxBytes = 200;
+
+    counter.textContent = `${byteLength} / ${maxBytes}`;
 
     // Visual warning when approaching limit
-    if (length >= maxLength * 0.9) {
+    if (byteLength >= maxBytes * 0.9) {
         counter.classList.remove('text-muted', 'text-warning');
         counter.classList.add('text-danger', 'fw-bold');
-    } else if (length >= maxLength * 0.75) {
+    } else if (byteLength >= maxBytes * 0.75) {
         counter.classList.remove('text-muted', 'text-danger');
         counter.classList.add('text-warning', 'fw-bold');
     } else {
diff --git a/app/templates/index.html b/app/templates/index.html
index 6ef7a52..158fd44 100644
--- a/app/templates/index.html
+++ b/app/templates/index.html
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
                         class="form-control"
                         placeholder="Type a message..."
                         rows="2"
-                        maxlength="200"
+                        maxlength="500"
                         required
                     ></textarea>
                     <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary px-4" id="sendBtn">