1 files changed, 3 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/sleekxmpp/util/misc_ops.py b/sleekxmpp/util/misc_ops.py
index 9ed535d9..1dcc2b91 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/util/misc_ops.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/util/misc_ops.py
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ def bytes(text):
     :param text: Unicode text to convert to bytes
     :rtype: bytes (Python3), str (Python2.6+)
     """
+    if text is None:
+        return b''
+
     if sys.version_info < (3, 0):
         import __builtin__
         return __builtin__.bytes(text)