diff --git a/examples/basic/app.js b/examples/basic/app.js
index b248d7841..ab33dd9c2 100644
--- a/examples/basic/app.js
+++ b/examples/basic/app.js
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ const router = new VueRouter({
     { path: '/', component: Home },
     { path: '/foo', component: Foo },
     { path: '/bar', component: Bar },
-    { path: '/é', component: Unicode },
+    { path: encodeURI('/é'), component: Unicode },
     { path: '/query/:q', component: Query }
   ]
 })
@@ -76,9 +76,9 @@ const vueInstance = new Vue({
         <router-link tag="li" to="/bar" :event="['mousedown', 'touchstart']">
           <a>/bar</a>
         </router-link>
-        <li><router-link to="/é">/é</router-link></li>
-        <li><router-link to="/é?t=%25ñ">/é?t=%ñ</router-link></li>
-        <li><router-link to="/é#%25ñ">/é#%25ñ</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é')">/é</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é?t=%ñ')">/é?t=%ñ</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é#%ñ')">/é#%25ñ</router-link></li>
         <router-link to="/foo" v-slot="props">
           <li :class="[props.isActive && 'active', props.isExactActive && 'exact-active']">
             <a :href="props.href" @click="props.navigate">{{ props.route.path }} (with v-slot).</a>
diff --git a/examples/hash-mode/app.js b/examples/hash-mode/app.js
index ee58238e9..16475ffc8 100644
--- a/examples/hash-mode/app.js
+++ b/examples/hash-mode/app.js
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ const router = new VueRouter({
     { path: '/', component: Home }, // all paths are defined without the hash.
     { path: '/foo', component: Foo },
     { path: '/bar', component: Bar },
-    { path: '/é', component: Unicode },
-    { path: '/é/:unicode', component: Unicode },
+    { path: encodeURI('/é'), component: Unicode },
+    { path: encodeURI('/é/:unicode'), component: Unicode },
     { path: '/query/:q', component: Query, name: 'param' }
   ]
 })
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ const vueInstance = new Vue({
         <li><router-link to="/foo">/foo</router-link></li>
         <li><router-link to="/bar">/bar</router-link></li>
         <router-link tag="li" to="/bar">/bar</router-link>
-        <li><router-link to="/é">/é</router-link></li>
-        <li><router-link to="/é/ñ">/é/ñ</router-link></li>
-        <li><router-link to="/é/ñ?t=%25ñ">/é/ñ?t=%ñ</router-link></li>
-        <li><router-link to="/é/ñ#é">/é/ñ#é</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é')">/é</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é/ñ')">/é/ñ</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é/ñ?t=%ñ')">/é/ñ?t=%ñ</router-link></li>
+        <li><router-link :to="encodeURI('/é/ñ#é')">/é/ñ#é</router-link></li>
         <li><router-link to="/query/A%25">/query/A%</router-link></li>
         <li><router-link :to="{ name: 'param', params: { q: 'A%' }}">/query/A% (object)</router-link></li>
         <li><router-link to="/query/A%2FE">/query/A%2FE</router-link></li>
diff --git a/src/create-matcher.js b/src/create-matcher.js
index 3392b2c07..fcb8a8092 100644
--- a/src/create-matcher.js
+++ b/src/create-matcher.js
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createRoute } from './util/route'
 import { fillParams } from './util/params'
 import { createRouteMap } from './create-route-map'
 import { normalizeLocation } from './util/location'
+import { decode } from './util/query'
 
 export type Matcher = {
   match: (raw: RawLocation, current?: Route, redirectedFrom?: Location) => Route;
@@ -175,14 +176,6 @@ function matchRoute (
   path: string,
   params: Object
 ): boolean {
-  try {
-    path = decodeURI(path)
-  } catch (err) {
-    if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production') {
-      warn(false, `Error decoding "${path}". Leaving it intact.`)
-    }
-  }
-
   const m = path.match(regex)
 
   if (!m) {
@@ -195,7 +188,7 @@ function matchRoute (
     const key = regex.keys[i - 1]
     if (key) {
       // Fix #1994: using * with props: true generates a param named 0
-      params[key.name || 'pathMatch'] = m[i]
+      params[key.name || 'pathMatch'] = typeof m[i] === 'string' ? decode(m[i]) : m[i]
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/create-route-map.js b/src/create-route-map.js
index c05896845..01c0836d2 100644
--- a/src/create-route-map.js
+++ b/src/create-route-map.js
@@ -70,6 +70,14 @@ function addRouteRecord (
         path || name
       )} cannot be a ` + `string id. Use an actual component instead.`
     )
+
+    warn(
+      // eslint-disable-next-line no-control-regex
+      !/[^\u0000-\u007F]+/.test(path),
+      `Route with path "${path}" contains unencoded characters, make sure ` +
+        `your path is correctly encoded before passing it to the router. Use ` +
+        `encodeURI to encode static segments of your path.`
+    )
   }
 
   const pathToRegexpOptions: PathToRegexpOptions =
diff --git a/test/unit/specs/create-map.spec.js b/test/unit/specs/create-map.spec.js
index 25bdb3d45..57c81afe1 100644
--- a/test/unit/specs/create-map.spec.js
+++ b/test/unit/specs/create-map.spec.js
@@ -81,6 +81,15 @@ describe('Creating Route Map', function () {
     )
   })
 
+  it('warns about unencoded entities', function () {
+    process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development'
+    maps = createRouteMap([{ path: '/é', component: Home }])
+    expect(console.warn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)
+    expect(console.warn.calls.argsFor(0)[0]).toMatch(
+      'vue-router] Route with path "/é"'
+    )
+  })
+
   it('in development, throws if path is missing', function () {
     process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development'
     expect(() => {