diff --git a/src/network/access/qhttpnetworkconnection.cpp b/src/network/access/qhttpnetworkconnection.cpp
index 34f21f9ed7c..1f2fb6d03c3 100644
--- a/src/network/access/qhttpnetworkconnection.cpp
+++ b/src/network/access/qhttpnetworkconnection.cpp
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ void QHttpNetworkConnectionPrivate::prepareRequest(HttpMessagePair &messagePair)
         QByteArray host;
         if (add.setAddress(hostName)) {
             if (add.protocol() == QAbstractSocket::IPv6Protocol)
-                host = '[' + hostName.toLatin1() + ']'; //format the ipv6 in the standard way
+                host = (u'[' + hostName + u']').toLatin1(); //format the ipv6 in the standard way
             else
                 host = hostName.toLatin1();