diff --git a/rtl/unix/cwstring.pp b/rtl/unix/cwstring.pp
index fd08472130..08362eb954 100644
--- a/rtl/unix/cwstring.pp
+++ b/rtl/unix/cwstring.pp
@@ -701,8 +701,14 @@ end;
 
 procedure InitThread;
 begin
+{$if not(defined(darwin) and defined(arm))}
   iconv_wide2ansi:=iconv_open(nl_langinfo(CODESET),unicode_encoding2);
   iconv_ansi2wide:=iconv_open(unicode_encoding2,nl_langinfo(CODESET));
+{$else}
+  { Unix locale settings are ignored on iPhoneOS }
+  iconv_wide2ansi:=iconv_open('UTF-8',unicode_encoding2);
+  iconv_ansi2wide:=iconv_open(unicode_encoding2,'UTF-8');
+{$endif}
 end;