diff --git a/packages/react-params/src/Param/BaseBytes.tsx b/packages/react-params/src/Param/BaseBytes.tsx
index 3cf7777f33..07963c679f 100644
--- a/packages/react-params/src/Param/BaseBytes.tsx
+++ b/packages/react-params/src/Param/BaseBytes.tsx
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ function convertInput (value: string): [boolean, boolean, Uint8Array] {
     return [true, false, new Uint8Array([])];
   } else if (value.startsWith('0x')) {
     try {
-      return [true, false, hexToU8a(value)];
+      return [true, false, isHex(value) ? hexToU8a(value) : stringToU8a(value)];
     } catch {
       return [false, false, new Uint8Array([])];
     }