“Incorrect string value” when trying to insert UTF-8 into MySQL via JDBC?

Question

This is how my connection is set:
Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url + dbName + \"?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8\", userName, password

Answer 1

Its mostly caused due to some unicode characters. In my case it was the Rupee currency symbol.

To quickly fix this, I had to spot the character causing this error. I copy pasted the entire text in a text editor like vi and replaced the troubling character with a text one.