diff --git a/combo/apps/dashboard/views.py b/combo/apps/dashboard/views.py
index d0cc1071..1ca10dcb 100644
--- a/combo/apps/dashboard/views.py
+++ b/combo/apps/dashboard/views.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from django.core.exceptions import PermissionDenied
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.db.models import Max, Min
 from django.http import Http404, HttpResponse, HttpResponseRedirect
+from django.utils.encoding import force_text
 from django.views.decorators.csrf import csrf_exempt
 from django.views.generic import View
 
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ def dashboard_auto_tile(request, *args, **kwargs):
     # only keep parameters that are actually defined for this cell type.
     cell_form_keys = [x['varname'] for x in settings.JSON_CELL_TYPES[cell.key].get('form') or {}]
     cell.parameters = {}
-    request_body = json.loads(request.body)
+    request_body = json.loads(force_text(request.body))
     for key in cell_form_keys:
         cell.parameters[key] = request_body.get(key)