diff --git a/jquery.base64.js b/jquery.base64.js
index 6c98f156..2a2cd2cc 100644
--- a/jquery.base64.js
+++ b/jquery.base64.js
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ jQuery.base64 = ( function( $ ) {
   function _getbyte( s, i ) {
     var x = s.charCodeAt( i );
 
-    if ( x > 255 ) {
+    if ( x > 65535 ) {
       throw "INVALID_CHARACTER_ERR: DOM Exception 5";
     }