diff --git a/tests/test-http-bad-server.t b/tests/test-http-bad-server.t
--- a/tests/test-http-bad-server.t
+++ b/tests/test-http-bad-server.t
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ version so behavior is deterministic.
 
   $ cat > fakeversion.py << EOF
   > from mercurial import util
-  > util.version = lambda: '4.2'
+  > util.version = lambda: b'4.2'
   > EOF
 
   $ cat >> $HGRCPATH << EOF