diff --git a/swift/common/middleware/slo.py b/swift/common/middleware/slo.py
index b46d3910b5..853a51c661 100644
--- a/swift/common/middleware/slo.py
+++ b/swift/common/middleware/slo.py
@@ -147,11 +147,12 @@ metadata which can be used for stats purposes.
 """
 
 from six.moves import range
-from six.moves import cStringIO as StringIO
 
 from datetime import datetime
 import mimetypes
 import re
+import six
+from six import BytesIO
 from hashlib import md5
 from swift.common.exceptions import ListingIterError, SegmentError
 from swift.common.swob import Request, HTTPBadRequest, HTTPServerError, \
@@ -681,8 +682,10 @@ class StaticLargeObject(object):
         env['CONTENT_TYPE'] += ";swift_bytes=%d" % total_size
         env['HTTP_X_STATIC_LARGE_OBJECT'] = 'True'
         json_data = json.dumps(data_for_storage)
+        if six.PY3:
+            json_data = json_data.encode('utf-8')
         env['CONTENT_LENGTH'] = str(len(json_data))
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO(json_data)
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(json_data)
 
         slo_put_context = SloPutContext(self, slo_etag)
         return slo_put_context.handle_slo_put(req, start_response)
diff --git a/swift/common/swob.py b/swift/common/swob.py
index e4ac78d25d..70c1fc4415 100644
--- a/swift/common/swob.py
+++ b/swift/common/swob.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ import random
 import functools
 import inspect
 
+from six import BytesIO
 from six import StringIO
 
 from swift.common.utils import reiterate, split_path, Timestamp, pairs, \
@@ -130,10 +131,10 @@ class _UTC(tzinfo):
 UTC = _UTC()
 
 
-class WsgiStringIO(StringIO):
+class WsgiStringIO(BytesIO):
     """
     This class adds support for the additional wsgi.input methods defined on
-    eventlet.wsgi.Input to the StringIO class which would otherwise be a fine
+    eventlet.wsgi.Input to the BytesIO class which would otherwise be a fine
     stand-in for the file-like object in the WSGI environment.
     """
 
@@ -865,7 +866,7 @@ class Request(object):
             'SERVER_PROTOCOL': 'HTTP/1.0',
             'wsgi.version': (1, 0),
             'wsgi.url_scheme': parsed_path.scheme or 'http',
-            'wsgi.errors': StringIO(''),
+            'wsgi.errors': StringIO(),
             'wsgi.multithread': False,
             'wsgi.multiprocess': False
         }
@@ -874,7 +875,7 @@ class Request(object):
             env['wsgi.input'] = WsgiStringIO(body)
             env['CONTENT_LENGTH'] = str(len(body))
         elif 'wsgi.input' not in env:
-            env['wsgi.input'] = WsgiStringIO('')
+            env['wsgi.input'] = WsgiStringIO()
         req = Request(env)
         for key, val in headers.items():
             req.headers[key] = val
@@ -981,7 +982,7 @@ class Request(object):
         env.update({
             'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
             'CONTENT_LENGTH': '0',
-            'wsgi.input': WsgiStringIO(''),
+            'wsgi.input': WsgiStringIO(),
         })
         return Request(env)
 
diff --git a/swift/common/wsgi.py b/swift/common/wsgi.py
index 46789826f1..28810f6f8d 100644
--- a/swift/common/wsgi.py
+++ b/swift/common/wsgi.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import eventlet.debug
 from eventlet import greenio, GreenPool, sleep, wsgi, listen, Timeout
 from paste.deploy import loadwsgi
 from eventlet.green import socket, ssl, os as green_os
+from six import BytesIO
 from six import StringIO
 from urllib import unquote
 
@@ -1102,7 +1103,7 @@ def make_env(env, method=None, path=None, agent='Swift', query_string=None,
         del newenv['HTTP_USER_AGENT']
     if swift_source:
         newenv['swift.source'] = swift_source
-    newenv['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('')
+    newenv['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO()
     if 'SCRIPT_NAME' not in newenv:
         newenv['SCRIPT_NAME'] = ''
     return newenv
diff --git a/test/unit/account/test_server.py b/test/unit/account/test_server.py
index 8bd8ea6d82..4ea16134ec 100644
--- a/test/unit/account/test_server.py
+++ b/test/unit/account/test_server.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import itertools
 import random
 
 import simplejson
+from six import BytesIO
 from six import StringIO
 import xml.dom.minidom
 
@@ -1358,7 +1359,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(resp.status_int, 507)
 
     def test_through_call(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -1384,7 +1385,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(outbuf.getvalue()[:4], '404 ')
 
     def test_through_call_invalid_path(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -1410,7 +1411,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(outbuf.getvalue()[:4], '400 ')
 
     def test_through_call_invalid_path_utf8(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -1582,7 +1583,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_correct_allowed_method(self):
         # Test correct work for allowed method using
         # swift.account.server.AccountController.__call__
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = AccountController(
@@ -1621,7 +1622,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_not_allowed_method(self):
         # Test correct work for NOT allowed method using
         # swift.account.server.AccountController.__call__
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = AccountController(
@@ -1658,7 +1659,7 @@ class TestAccountController(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertEqual(response, answer)
 
     def test_call_incorrect_replication_method(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = AccountController(
diff --git a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_bulk.py b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_bulk.py
index d912c1065a..e763424a32 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_bulk.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_bulk.py
@@ -15,13 +15,13 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import numbers
-from six import StringIO
 import unittest
 import os
 import tarfile
 import urllib
 import zlib
 import mock
+from six import BytesIO
 from shutil import rmtree
 from tempfile import mkdtemp
 from eventlet import sleep
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ class TestUntarMetadata(unittest.TestCase):
         with open(os.path.join(self.testdir, "obj2"), "w") as fh2:
             fh2.write("obj2 contents\n")
 
-        tar_ball = StringIO()
+        tar_ball = BytesIO()
         tar_file = tarfile.TarFile.open(fileobj=tar_ball, mode="w",
                                         format=tarfile.PAX_FORMAT)
 
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ class TestDelete(unittest.TestCase):
                             headers={'Accept': 'application/json',
                                      'Content-Type': 'text/xml'})
         req.method = 'POST'
-        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('/c/f\n/c/f404')
+        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'/c/f\n/c/f404')
         resp_body = self.handle_delete_and_iter(req)
         resp_data = utils.json.loads(resp_body)
         self.assertEquals(resp_data['Response Status'], '406 Not Acceptable')
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ class TestDelete(unittest.TestCase):
         req.method = 'POST'
         req.headers['Transfer-Encoding'] = 'chunked'
         req.headers['Accept'] = 'application/json'
-        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('/c/f%20')
+        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'/c/f%20')
         list(self.bulk(req.environ, fake_start_response))  # iterate over resp
         self.assertEquals(
             self.app.delete_paths, ['/delete_works/AUTH_Acc/c/f '])
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ class TestDelete(unittest.TestCase):
 
         with patch.object(self.bulk, 'max_path_length', 2):
             results = []
-            req.environ['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('1\n2\n3')
+            req.environ['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'1\n2\n3')
             results = self.bulk.get_objs_to_delete(req)
             self.assertEquals(results,
                               [{'name': '1'}, {'name': '2'}, {'name': '3'}])
@@ -737,8 +737,8 @@ class TestDelete(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_bulk_delete_too_many_newlines(self):
         req = Request.blank('/delete_works/AUTH_Acc')
         req.method = 'POST'
-        data = '\n\n' * self.bulk.max_deletes_per_request
-        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = StringIO(data)
+        data = b'\n\n' * self.bulk.max_deletes_per_request
+        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(data)
         req.content_length = len(data)
         resp_body = self.handle_delete_and_iter(req)
         self.assertTrue('413 Request Entity Too Large' in resp_body)
@@ -857,8 +857,8 @@ class TestDelete(unittest.TestCase):
                             headers={'Accept': 'application/json'})
         req.method = 'POST'
         bad_file = 'c/' + ('1' * self.bulk.max_path_length)
-        data = '/c/f\n' + bad_file + '\n/c/f'
-        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = StringIO(data)
+        data = b'/c/f\n' + bad_file.encode('ascii') + b'\n/c/f'
+        req.environ['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(data)
         req.headers['Transfer-Encoding'] = 'chunked'
         resp_body = self.handle_delete_and_iter(req)
         resp_data = utils.json.loads(resp_body)
diff --git a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_formpost.py b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_formpost.py
index 2f4e3d0918..6b7ecead17 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_formpost.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_formpost.py
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ import unittest
 from hashlib import sha1
 from time import time
 
-from six import StringIO
+import six
+from six import BytesIO
 
 from swift.common.swob import Request, Response
 from swift.common.middleware import tempauth, formpost
@@ -43,13 +44,13 @@ class FakeApp(object):
             if self.check_no_query_string and env.get('QUERY_STRING'):
                 raise Exception('Query string %s should have been discarded!' %
                                 env['QUERY_STRING'])
-            body = ''
+            body = b''
             while True:
                 chunk = env['wsgi.input'].read()
                 if not chunk:
                     break
                 body += chunk
-            env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO(body)
+            env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(body)
             self.requests.append(Request.blank('', environ=env))
             if env.get('swift.authorize_override') and \
                     env.get('REMOTE_USER') != '.wsgi.pre_authed':
@@ -73,39 +74,40 @@ class TestCappedFileLikeObject(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_whole(self):
         self.assertEquals(
-            formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(StringIO('abc'), 10).read(), 'abc')
+            formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(BytesIO(b'abc'), 10).read(),
+            b'abc')
 
     def test_exceeded(self):
         exc = None
         try:
-            formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(StringIO('abc'), 2).read()
+            formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(BytesIO(b'abc'), 2).read()
         except EOFError as err:
             exc = err
         self.assertEquals(str(exc), 'max_file_size exceeded')
 
     def test_whole_readline(self):
-        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(StringIO('abc\ndef'), 10)
-        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), 'abc\n')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), 'def')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), '')
+        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(BytesIO(b'abc\ndef'), 10)
+        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), b'abc\n')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), b'def')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), b'')
 
     def test_exceeded_readline(self):
-        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(StringIO('abc\ndef'), 5)
-        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), 'abc\n')
+        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(BytesIO(b'abc\ndef'), 5)
+        self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), b'abc\n')
         exc = None
         try:
-            self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), 'def')
+            self.assertEquals(fp.readline(), b'def')
         except EOFError as err:
             exc = err
         self.assertEquals(str(exc), 'max_file_size exceeded')
 
     def test_read_sized(self):
-        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(StringIO('abcdefg'), 10)
-        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), 'ab')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), 'cd')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), 'ef')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), 'g')
-        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), '')
+        fp = formpost._CappedFileLikeObject(BytesIO(b'abcdefg'), 10)
+        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), b'ab')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), b'cd')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), b'ef')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), b'g')
+        self.assertEquals(fp.read(2), b'')
 
 
 class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -196,7 +198,9 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR--',
             '',
         ]
-        wsgi_errors = StringIO()
+        if six.PY3:
+            body = [line.encode('utf-8') for line in body]
+        wsgi_errors = six.StringIO()
         env = {
             'CONTENT_TYPE': 'multipart/form-data; '
             'boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR',
@@ -242,7 +246,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() - 10), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -282,7 +286,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '%s\n%s\n%s\n%s\n%s' % (
                 path, redirect, max_file_size, max_file_count, expires),
             sha1).hexdigest()
-        wsgi_input = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -322,8 +326,11 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '',
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR--',
             '',
-        ]))
-        wsgi_errors = StringIO()
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
+        wsgi_errors = six.StringIO()
         env = {
             'CONTENT_TYPE': 'multipart/form-data; '
             'boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR',
@@ -396,7 +403,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '%s\n%s\n%s\n%s\n%s' % (
                 path, redirect, max_file_size, max_file_count, expires),
             sha1).hexdigest()
-        wsgi_input = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '-----------------------------168072824752491622650073',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -436,8 +443,11 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '',
             '-----------------------------168072824752491622650073--',
             ''
-        ]))
-        wsgi_errors = StringIO()
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
+        wsgi_errors = six.StringIO()
         env = {
             'CONTENT_TYPE': 'multipart/form-data; '
             'boundary=---------------------------168072824752491622650073',
@@ -509,7 +519,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '%s\n%s\n%s\n%s\n%s' % (
                 path, redirect, max_file_size, max_file_count, expires),
             sha1).hexdigest()
-        wsgi_input = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryq3CFxUjfsDMu8XsA',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -549,8 +559,11 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '',
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryq3CFxUjfsDMu8XsA--',
             ''
-        ]))
-        wsgi_errors = StringIO()
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
+        wsgi_errors = six.StringIO()
         env = {
             'CONTENT_TYPE': 'multipart/form-data; '
             'boundary=----WebKitFormBoundaryq3CFxUjfsDMu8XsA',
@@ -625,7 +638,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '%s\n%s\n%s\n%s\n%s' % (
                 path, redirect, max_file_size, max_file_count, expires),
             sha1).hexdigest()
-        wsgi_input = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '-----------------------------7db20d93017c',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -665,8 +678,11 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '',
             '-----------------------------7db20d93017c--',
             ''
-        ]))
-        wsgi_errors = StringIO()
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
+        wsgi_errors = six.StringIO()
         env = {
             'CONTENT_TYPE': 'multipart/form-data; '
             'boundary=---------------------------7db20d93017c',
@@ -730,7 +746,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://brim.net', 5, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('XX' + '\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'XX' + b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -766,7 +782,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://brim.net', 5, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -797,7 +813,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://brim.net', 1024, 1,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -838,7 +854,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
         env['QUERY_STRING'] = 'this=should&not=get&passed'
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -873,7 +889,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://brim.net', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -916,7 +932,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         # Tack on an extra char to redirect, but shouldn't matter since it
         # should get truncated off on read.
         redirect += 'b'
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -956,7 +972,10 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             '',
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR--',
             '',
-        ]))
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1001,7 +1020,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', redirect, max_file_size, max_file_count,
             expires, key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join([
+        wsgi_input = '\r\n'.join([
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR',
             'Content-Disposition: form-data; name="redirect"',
             '',
@@ -1024,7 +1043,10 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             sig,
             '------WebKitFormBoundaryNcxTqxSlX7t4TDkR--',
             '',
-        ]))
+        ])
+        if six.PY3:
+            wsgi_input = wsgi_input.encode('utf-8')
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1064,7 +1086,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key, user_agent=False)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1085,7 +1107,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key, user_agent=False)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1113,7 +1135,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         # Stick it in X-Account-Meta-Temp-URL-Key-2 and make sure we get it
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', ['bert', key])
@@ -1150,7 +1172,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
                 '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect', 1024, 10,
                 int(time() + 86400), key)
-            env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+            env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
             env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env('AUTH_test')
             # Stick it in X-Container-Meta-Temp-URL-Key-2 and ensure we get it
             env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': meta}
@@ -1176,7 +1198,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1214,7 +1236,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', 'http://redirect?one=two', 1024, 10,
             int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1252,7 +1274,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1289,7 +1311,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() - 10), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1322,7 +1344,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         # Change key to invalidate sig
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key + ' is bogus now'])
@@ -1356,7 +1378,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('XX' + '\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'XX' + b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1389,7 +1411,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v2/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1422,7 +1444,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '//AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1455,7 +1477,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1//container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1488,7 +1510,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_tst/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([
@@ -1523,7 +1545,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1561,7 +1583,7 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
             if v == str(expires):
                 body[i] = 'badvalue'
                 break
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(body))
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(b'\r\n'.join(body))
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1601,7 +1623,8 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body))
+        wsgi_input = b'\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body)
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1643,7 +1666,8 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body))
+        wsgi_input = b'\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body)
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
@@ -1677,7 +1701,8 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body))
+        wsgi_input = b'\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body)
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         env['swift.container/AUTH_test/container'] = {'meta': {}}
@@ -1719,7 +1744,8 @@ class TestFormPost(unittest.TestCase):
         key = 'abc'
         sig, env, body = self._make_sig_env_body(
             '/v1/AUTH_test/container', '', 1024, 10, int(time() + 86400), key)
-        env['wsgi.input'] = StringIO('\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body))
+        wsgi_input = b'\r\n'.join(x_delete_body_part + body)
+        env['wsgi.input'] = BytesIO(wsgi_input)
         env['swift.account/AUTH_test'] = self._fake_cache_env(
             'AUTH_test', [key])
         self.app = FakeApp(iter([('201 Created', {}, ''),
diff --git a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_proxy_logging.py b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_proxy_logging.py
index 85cd89163e..1b7eb65e04 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_proxy_logging.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_proxy_logging.py
@@ -13,11 +13,12 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from six import moves
 import unittest
 from urllib import unquote
 from logging.handlers import SysLogHandler
+
 import mock
+from six import BytesIO
 
 from test.unit import FakeLogger
 from swift.common.utils import get_logger
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ class TestProxyLogging(unittest.TestCase):
                 app.access_logger = FakeLogger()
                 req = Request.blank(path, environ={
                     'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
-                    'wsgi.input': moves.cStringIO('4321')})
+                    'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'4321')})
                 stub_times = [18.0, 20.71828182846]
                 iter_response = app(req.environ, lambda *_: None)
                 self.assertEqual('7654321', ''.join(iter_response))
@@ -213,7 +214,7 @@ class TestProxyLogging(unittest.TestCase):
                 req = Request.blank(path, environ={
                     'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
                     'swift.proxy_access_log_made': True,
-                    'wsgi.input': moves.cStringIO('4321')})
+                    'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'4321')})
                 stub_times = [18.0, 20.71828182846]
                 iter_response = app(req.environ, lambda *_: None)
                 self.assertEqual('7654321', ''.join(iter_response))
@@ -229,7 +230,7 @@ class TestProxyLogging(unittest.TestCase):
                 app.access_logger = FakeLogger()
                 req = Request.blank(path, environ={
                     'REQUEST_METHOD': 'PUT',
-                    'wsgi.input': moves.cStringIO('654321')})
+                    'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'654321')})
                 # (it's not a GET, so time() doesn't have a 2nd call)
                 stub_times = [58.2, 58.2 + 7.3321]
                 iter_response = app(req.environ, lambda *_: None)
@@ -377,7 +378,7 @@ class TestProxyLogging(unittest.TestCase):
         req = Request.blank(
             '/v1/a/c/o/foo',
             environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'PUT',
-                     'wsgi.input': moves.cStringIO('some stuff')})
+                     'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'some stuff')})
         resp = app(req.environ, start_response)
         # exhaust generator
         [x for x in resp]
@@ -395,8 +396,7 @@ class TestProxyLogging(unittest.TestCase):
         req = Request.blank(
             '/v1/a/c',
             environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'POST',
-                     'wsgi.input': moves.cStringIO(
-                         'some stuff\nsome other stuff\n')})
+                     'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'some stuff\nsome other stuff\n')})
         resp = app(req.environ, start_response)
         # exhaust generator
         [x for x in resp]
diff --git a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_xprofile.py b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_xprofile.py
index 0a16a95473..dde6d4f834 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/middleware/test_xprofile.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/middleware/test_xprofile.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ import tempfile
 import unittest
 from nose import SkipTest
 
-import six
+from six import BytesIO
 
 from swift import gettext_ as _
 from swift.common.swob import Request, Response
@@ -110,9 +110,9 @@ class TestProfileMiddleware(unittest.TestCase):
         self.headers = headers
 
     def test_combine_body_qs(self):
-        body = "profile=all&sort=time&limit=-1&fulldirs=1&nfl_filter=__call__"\
-            + "&query=query&metric=nc&format=default"
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body)
+        body = (b"profile=all&sort=time&limit=-1&fulldirs=1"
+                b"&nfl_filter=__call__&query=query&metric=nc&format=default")
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body)
         environ = {'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
                    'QUERY_STRING': 'profile=all&format=json',
                    'wsgi.input': wsgi_input}
@@ -128,9 +128,8 @@ class TestProfileMiddleware(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(query_dict['format'], ['default'])
 
     def test_call(self):
-        body = "sort=time&limit=-1&fulldirs=1&nfl_filter="\
-            + "&metric=nc"
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&query=query')
+        body = b"sort=time&limit=-1&fulldirs=1&nfl_filter=&metric=nc"
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + b'&query=query')
         environ = {'HTTP_HOST': 'localhost:8080',
                    'PATH_INFO': '/__profile__',
                    'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
@@ -140,7 +139,7 @@ class TestProfileMiddleware(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assert_(resp[0].find('<html>') > 0, resp)
         self.assertEqual(self.got_statuses, ['200 OK'])
         self.assertEqual(self.headers, [('content-type', 'text/html')])
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&plot=plot')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + b'&plot=plot')
         environ['wsgi.input'] = wsgi_input
         if PLOTLIB_INSTALLED:
             resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
@@ -149,12 +148,12 @@ class TestProfileMiddleware(unittest.TestCase):
         else:
             resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
             self.assertEqual(self.got_statuses, ['500 Internal Server Error'])
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&download=download&format=default')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + '&download=download&format=default')
         environ['wsgi.input'] = wsgi_input
         resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
         self.assertEqual(self.headers, [('content-type',
                                          HTMLViewer.format_dict['default'])])
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&download=download&format=json')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + '&download=download&format=json')
         environ['wsgi.input'] = wsgi_input
         resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
         self.assert_(self.headers == [('content-type',
@@ -165,12 +164,12 @@ class TestProfileMiddleware(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(self.got_statuses, ['405 Method Not Allowed'], resp)
 
         # use a totally bogus profile identifier
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&profile=ABC&download=download')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + b'&profile=ABC&download=download')
         environ['wsgi.input'] = wsgi_input
         resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
         self.assertEqual(self.got_statuses, ['404 Not Found'], resp)
 
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body + '&download=download&format=ods')
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body + b'&download=download&format=ods')
         environ['wsgi.input'] = wsgi_input
         resp = self.app(environ, self.start_response)
         if ODFLIB_INSTALLED:
@@ -298,9 +297,9 @@ class Test_html_viewer(unittest.TestCase):
             self.log_files.append(self.profile_log.dump_profile(profiler, pid))
         self.viewer = HTMLViewer('__profile__', 'eventlet.green.profile',
                                  self.profile_log)
-        body = "profile=123&profile=456&sort=time&sort=nc&limit=10"\
-            + "&fulldirs=1&nfl_filter=getcwd&query=query&metric=nc"
-        wsgi_input = six.StringIO(body)
+        body = (b"profile=123&profile=456&sort=time&sort=nc&limit=10"
+                b"&fulldirs=1&nfl_filter=getcwd&query=query&metric=nc")
+        wsgi_input = BytesIO(body)
         environ = {'REQUEST_METHOD': 'GET',
                    'QUERY_STRING': 'profile=all',
                    'wsgi.input': wsgi_input}
diff --git a/test/unit/common/test_swob.py b/test/unit/common/test_swob.py
index e2c141613f..9e71e9783e 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/test_swob.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/test_swob.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import re
 import time
 from urllib import quote
 
-from six import StringIO
+from six import BytesIO
 
 import swift.common.swob
 from swift.common import utils, exceptions
@@ -476,22 +476,22 @@ class TestRequest(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_blank_body_precedence(self):
         req = swift.common.swob.Request.blank(
             '/', environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'POST',
-                          'wsgi.input': StringIO('')},
+                          'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'')},
             headers={'Content-Type': 'text/plain'}, body='hi')
         self.assertEquals(req.path_info, '/')
         self.assertEquals(req.body, 'hi')
         self.assertEquals(req.headers['Content-Type'], 'text/plain')
         self.assertEquals(req.method, 'POST')
-        body_file = StringIO('asdf')
+        body_file = BytesIO(b'asdf')
         req = swift.common.swob.Request.blank(
             '/', environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'POST',
-                          'wsgi.input': StringIO('')},
+                          'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'')},
             headers={'Content-Type': 'text/plain'}, body='hi',
             body_file=body_file)
         self.assert_(req.body_file is body_file)
         req = swift.common.swob.Request.blank(
             '/', environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'POST',
-                          'wsgi.input': StringIO('')},
+                          'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'')},
             headers={'Content-Type': 'text/plain'}, body='hi',
             content_length=3)
         self.assertEquals(req.content_length, 3)
diff --git a/test/unit/common/test_wsgi.py b/test/unit/common/test_wsgi.py
index 87e542b7e2..51c7dfac1e 100644
--- a/test/unit/common/test_wsgi.py
+++ b/test/unit/common/test_wsgi.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ from collections import defaultdict
 from urllib import quote
 
 from eventlet import listen
+from six import BytesIO
 from six import StringIO
 
 import mock
@@ -556,7 +557,7 @@ class TestWSGI(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue('wsgi.input' in newenv)
         self.assertEquals(newenv['wsgi.input'].read(), '')
 
-        oldenv = {'wsgi.input': StringIO('original wsgi.input')}
+        oldenv = {'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b'original wsgi.input')}
         newenv = wsgi.make_pre_authed_env(oldenv)
         self.assertTrue('wsgi.input' in newenv)
         self.assertEquals(newenv['wsgi.input'].read(), '')
diff --git a/test/unit/container/test_server.py b/test/unit/container/test_server.py
index 620c49f1c8..ac75b05671 100644
--- a/test/unit/container/test_server.py
+++ b/test/unit/container/test_server.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 import operator
 import os
 import mock
-from six import StringIO
 import unittest
 import itertools
 from contextlib import contextmanager
@@ -30,6 +29,8 @@ import random
 
 from eventlet import spawn, Timeout, listen
 import simplejson
+from six import BytesIO
+from six import StringIO
 
 from swift import __version__ as swift_version
 from swift.common.swob import Request, HeaderKeyDict
@@ -2126,7 +2127,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEquals(resp.status_int, 507)
 
     def test_through_call(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -2152,7 +2153,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEquals(outbuf.getvalue()[:4], '404 ')
 
     def test_through_call_invalid_path(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -2178,7 +2179,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEquals(outbuf.getvalue()[:4], '400 ')
 
     def test_through_call_invalid_path_utf8(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
 
@@ -2466,7 +2467,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_correct_allowed_method(self):
         # Test correct work for allowed method using
         # swift.container.server.ContainerController.__call__
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = container_server.ContainerController(
@@ -2503,7 +2504,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_not_allowed_method(self):
         # Test correct work for NOT allowed method using
         # swift.container.server.ContainerController.__call__
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = container_server.ContainerController(
@@ -2539,7 +2540,7 @@ class TestContainerController(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertEqual(response, answer)
 
     def test_call_incorrect_replication_method(self):
-        inbuf = StringIO()
+        inbuf = BytesIO()
         errbuf = StringIO()
         outbuf = StringIO()
         self.controller = container_server.ContainerController(
diff --git a/test/unit/obj/test_server.py b/test/unit/obj/test_server.py
index efe01f254e..5917bb7719 100755
--- a/test/unit/obj/test_server.py
+++ b/test/unit/obj/test_server.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import errno
 import operator
 import os
 import mock
+import six
 from six import StringIO
 import unittest
 import math
@@ -1017,7 +1018,7 @@ class TestObjectController(unittest.TestCase):
                 headers={'X-Timestamp': timestamp,
                          'Content-Type': 'text/plain',
                          'Content-Length': '6'})
-            req.environ['wsgi.input'] = WsgiStringIO('VERIFY')
+            req.environ['wsgi.input'] = WsgiStringIO(b'VERIFY')
             resp = req.get_response(self.object_controller)
             self.assertEquals(resp.status_int, 408)
 
@@ -5326,6 +5327,8 @@ class TestObjectServer(unittest.TestCase):
             "potato potato potato potato potato potato potato",
             "--boundary123--"
         ))
+        if six.PY3:
+            test_doc = test_doc.encode('utf-8')
 
         # phase1 - PUT request with object metadata in footer and
         # multiphase commit conversation
diff --git a/test/unit/proxy/test_server.py b/test/unit/proxy/test_server.py
index 54c790cf07..fcddd3f342 100644
--- a/test/unit/proxy/test_server.py
+++ b/test/unit/proxy/test_server.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import random
 
 import mock
 from eventlet import sleep, spawn, wsgi, listen, Timeout
+from six import BytesIO
 from six import StringIO
 from six.moves import range
 from swift.common.utils import hash_path, json, storage_directory, \
@@ -1300,7 +1301,7 @@ class TestObjectController(unittest.TestCase):
         req = Request.blank(
             '/v1/a/c1/wrong-o',
             environ={'REQUEST_METHOD': 'PUT',
-                     'wsgi.input': StringIO("hello")},
+                     'wsgi.input': BytesIO(b"hello")},
             headers={'Content-Type': 'text/plain',
                      'Content-Length': '5',
                      'X-Backend-Storage-Policy-Index': '2'})