diff --git a/src/yunohost/service.py b/src/yunohost/service.py
index 5f9f3e60a..2cebc5a0a 100644
--- a/src/yunohost/service.py
+++ b/src/yunohost/service.py
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ def service_reload_or_restart(names, test_conf=True):
 
             out, _ = p.communicate()
             if p.returncode != 0:
-                errors = out.strip().split("\n")
+                errors = out.decode().strip().split("\n")
                 logger.error(
                     m18n.n("service_not_reloading_because_conf_broken", errors=errors)
                 )