--- a/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/menu/BottomSheetContextMenu.java
+++ b/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/menu/BottomSheetContextMenu.java
@@ -1,16 +1,17 @@
 /* -*- Mode: Java; c-basic-offset: 4; tab-width: 20; indent-tabs-mode: nil; -*-
  * This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
  * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
  * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
 package org.mozilla.gecko.activitystream.homepanel.menu;
 
 import android.app.Activity;
 import android.content.Context;
+import android.net.Uri;
 import android.os.AsyncTask;
 import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
 import android.support.design.widget.BottomSheetBehavior;
 import android.support.design.widget.BottomSheetDialog;
 import android.support.design.widget.NavigationView;
 import android.text.TextUtils;
 import android.view.LayoutInflater;
 import android.view.MenuItem;
@@ -67,26 +68,26 @@ import java.net.URISyntaxException;
 
         bottomSheetDialog.setContentView(content);
 
         final String pageTitle = item.getTitle();
         final String sheetPageTitle = !TextUtils.isEmpty(pageTitle) ? pageTitle : item.getUrl();
         ((TextView) content.findViewById(R.id.title)).setText(sheetPageTitle);
 
         final TextView pageDomainView = (TextView) content.findViewById(R.id.url);
-        final URI itemURI;
-        try {
-            itemURI = new URI(item.getUrl());
+        final String urlString = item.getUrl();
+        if (urlString == null) {
+            // Invalid URI: not much processing we can do. Like the async task, the page title view sets itself to the
+            // url on error so we leave this field blank.
+            pageDomainView.setText("");
+        } else {
+            final Uri itemURI = Uri.parse(item.getUrl());
             final UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask updateDomainAsyncTask = new UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(context, pageDomainView,
                     itemURI);
             updateDomainAsyncTask.execute();
-        } catch (final URISyntaxException e) {
-            // Invalid URI: not much processing we can do. Like the async task, the page title view sets itself to the
-            // url on error so we leave this field blank.
-            pageDomainView.setText("");
         }
 
         // Copy layouted parameters from the Highlights / TopSites items to ensure consistency
         final FaviconView faviconView = (FaviconView) content.findViewById(R.id.icon);
         ViewGroup.LayoutParams layoutParams = faviconView.getLayoutParams();
         layoutParams.width = tilesWidth;
         layoutParams.height = tilesHeight;
         faviconView.setLayoutParams(layoutParams);
@@ -134,17 +135,17 @@ import java.net.URISyntaxException;
     public void dismiss() {
         bottomSheetDialog.dismiss();
     }
 
     /** Updates the given TextView's text to the page domain. */
     private static class UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask extends URIUtils.GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask {
         private final WeakReference<TextView> pageDomainViewWeakReference;
 
-        private UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(final Context context, final TextView pageDomainView, final URI uri) {
+        private UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(final Context context, final TextView pageDomainView, final Uri uri) {
             super(context, uri, true, 0); // baseDomain.
             this.pageDomainViewWeakReference = new WeakReference<>(pageDomainView);
         }
 
         @Override
         protected void onPostExecute(final String baseDomain) {
             super.onPostExecute(baseDomain);
 

--- a/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/stream/HighlightItem.java
+++ b/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/stream/HighlightItem.java
@@ -2,16 +2,17 @@
  * This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
  * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
  * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
 
 package org.mozilla.gecko.activitystream.homepanel.stream;
 
 import android.content.Context;
 import android.graphics.Color;
+import android.net.Uri;
 import android.support.annotation.UiThread;
 import android.text.TextUtils;
 import android.view.View;
 import android.view.ViewGroup;
 import android.widget.ImageView;
 import android.widget.TextView;
 import org.mozilla.gecko.R;
 import org.mozilla.gecko.Telemetry;
@@ -129,38 +130,36 @@ public class HighlightItem extends Strea
             default:
                 pageSourceView.setVisibility(View.INVISIBLE);
                 pageSourceIconView.setImageResource(0);
                 break;
         }
     }
 
     private void updatePageDomain() {
-        final URI highlightURI;
-        try {
-            highlightURI = new URI(highlight.getUrl());
-        } catch (final URISyntaxException e) {
+        final String urlStr = highlight.getUrl();
+        if (urlStr == null) {
             // If the URL is invalid, there's not much extra processing we can do on it.
             pageDomainView.setText(highlight.getUrl());
             return;
         }
 
         final UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask updatePageDomainTask = new UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(itemView.getContext(),
-                highlightURI, pageDomainView);
+                Uri.parse(urlStr), pageDomainView);
         updatePageDomainTask.execute();
     }
 
     /** Updates the text of the given view to the host second level domain. */
     private static class UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask extends URIUtils.GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask {
         private static final int VIEW_TAG_ID = R.id.page; // same as the view.
 
         private final WeakReference<TextView> pageDomainViewWeakReference;
         private final UUID viewTagAtStart;
 
-        UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(final Context contextReference, final URI uri, final TextView pageDomainView) {
+        UpdatePageDomainAsyncTask(final Context contextReference, final Uri uri, final TextView pageDomainView) {
             super(contextReference, uri, false, 0); // hostSLD.
             this.pageDomainViewWeakReference = new WeakReference<>(pageDomainView);
 
             // See isTagSameAsStartTag for details.
             viewTagAtStart = UUID.randomUUID();
             pageDomainView.setTag(VIEW_TAG_ID, viewTagAtStart);
         }
 

--- a/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/topsites/TopSitesCard.java
+++ b/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/activitystream/homepanel/topsites/TopSitesCard.java
@@ -2,16 +2,17 @@
  * This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
  * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
  * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
 package org.mozilla.gecko.activitystream.homepanel.topsites;
 
 import android.content.Context;
 import android.graphics.Color;
 import android.graphics.drawable.Drawable;
+import android.net.Uri;
 import android.support.annotation.UiThread;
 import android.support.v4.widget.TextViewCompat;
 import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
 import android.text.TextUtils;
 import android.view.View;
 import android.widget.FrameLayout;
 import android.widget.TextView;
 import org.mozilla.gecko.R;
@@ -105,30 +106,28 @@ import java.util.concurrent.Future;
         final Drawable pinDrawable;
         if (topSite.isPinned()) {
             pinDrawable = DrawableUtil.tintDrawable(itemView.getContext(), R.drawable.as_pin, Color.WHITE);
         } else {
             pinDrawable = null;
         }
         TextViewCompat.setCompoundDrawablesRelativeWithIntrinsicBounds(title, pinDrawable, null, null, null);
 
-        final URI topSiteURI;
-        try {
-            topSiteURI = new URI(topSite.getUrl());
-        } catch (final URISyntaxException e) {
+        final String urlString = topSite.getUrl();
+        if (urlString == null) {
             // If this is not a valid URI, there is not much processing we can do on it.
             // Also, see comment below regarding setCenteredText.
             setTopSiteTitle(title, topSite.getUrl());
             return;
         }
 
         // Our AsyncTask calls setCenteredText(), which needs to have all drawable's in place to correctly
         // layout the text, so we need to wait with requesting the title until we've set our pin icon.
         final UpdateCardTitleAsyncTask titleAsyncTask = new UpdateCardTitleAsyncTask(itemView.getContext(),
-                topSiteURI, title);
+                Uri.parse(urlString), title);
         titleAsyncTask.execute();
     }
 
     private static void setTopSiteTitle(final TextView textView, final String title) {
         // We use consistent padding all around the title, and the top padding is never modified,
         // so we can pass that in as the default padding:
         ViewUtil.setCenteredText(textView, title, textView.getPaddingTop());
     }
@@ -140,17 +139,17 @@ import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 
     /** Updates the text of the given view to the page domain. */
     private static class UpdateCardTitleAsyncTask extends URIUtils.GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask {
         private static final int VIEW_TAG_ID = R.id.title; // same as the view.
 
         private final WeakReference<TextView> titleViewWeakReference;
         private final UUID viewTagAtStart;
 
-        UpdateCardTitleAsyncTask(final Context contextReference, final URI uri, final TextView titleView) {
+        UpdateCardTitleAsyncTask(final Context contextReference, final Uri uri, final TextView titleView) {
             super(contextReference, uri, false, 1); // subdomain.domain.
             this.titleViewWeakReference = new WeakReference<>(titleView);
 
             // See isTagSameAsStartTag for details.
             viewTagAtStart = UUID.randomUUID();
             titleView.setTag(VIEW_TAG_ID, viewTagAtStart);
         }
 

--- a/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/util/URIUtils.java
+++ b/mobile/android/base/java/org/mozilla/gecko/util/URIUtils.java
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 /* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
  * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
  * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
 
 package org.mozilla.gecko.util;
 
 import android.content.Context;
+import android.net.Uri;
 import android.os.AsyncTask;
 import android.support.annotation.IntRange;
 import android.support.annotation.NonNull;
 import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
 import android.support.annotation.WorkerThread;
 import android.text.TextUtils;
 import android.util.Log;
 import ch.boye.httpclientandroidlib.conn.util.InetAddressUtils;
@@ -66,17 +67,17 @@ public class URIUtils {
      * @param uri the URI whose host we should format.
      * @param shouldIncludePublicSuffix true if the public suffix should be included, false otherwise.
      * @param subdomainCount The number of subdomains to include.
      *
      * @return the formatted domain, or the empty String if the host cannot be found.
      */
     @NonNull
     @WorkerThread // calls PublicSuffix methods.
-    public static String getFormattedDomain(@NonNull final Context context, @NonNull final URI uri,
+    public static String getFormattedDomain(@NonNull final Context context, @NonNull final Uri uri,
             final boolean shouldIncludePublicSuffix, @IntRange(from = 0) final int subdomainCount) {
         if (context == null) { throw new NullPointerException("Expected non-null Context argument"); }
         if (uri == null) { throw new NullPointerException("Expected non-null uri argument"); }
         if (subdomainCount < 0) { throw new IllegalArgumentException("Expected subdomainCount >= 0."); }
 
         final String host = uri.getHost();
         if (TextUtils.isEmpty(host)) {
             return ""; // There's no host so there's no domain to retrieve.
@@ -115,34 +116,34 @@ public class URIUtils {
             }
         }
 
         // There are fewer subdomains than the total we'll accept so return them all!
         return host;
     }
 
     // impl via FFiOS: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/blob/deb9736c905cdf06822ecc4a20152df7b342925d/Shared/Extensions/NSURLExtensions.swift#L292
-    private static boolean isIPv6(final URI uri) {
+    private static boolean isIPv6(final Uri uri) {
         final String host = uri.getHost();
         return !TextUtils.isEmpty(host) && host.contains(":");
     }
 
     /**
      * An async task that will take a URI formatted as a String and will retrieve
-     * {@link #getFormattedDomain(Context, URI, boolean, int)}. To use this, extend the class and override
+     * {@link #getFormattedDomain(Context, Uri, boolean, int)}. To use this, extend the class and override
      * {@link #onPostExecute(Object)}, where the formatted domain, or the empty String if the host cannot determined,
      * will be returned.
      */
     public static abstract class GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask extends AsyncTask<Void, Void, String> {
         protected final WeakReference<Context> contextWeakReference;
-        protected final URI uri;
+        protected final Uri uri;
         protected final boolean shouldIncludePublicSuffix;
         protected final int subdomainCount;
 
-        public GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask(final Context context, final URI uri, final boolean shouldIncludePublicSuffix,
+        public GetFormattedDomainAsyncTask(final Context context, final Uri uri, final boolean shouldIncludePublicSuffix,
                 final int subdomainCount) {
             this.contextWeakReference = new WeakReference<>(context);
             this.uri = uri;
             this.shouldIncludePublicSuffix = shouldIncludePublicSuffix;
             this.subdomainCount = subdomainCount;
         }
 
         @Override

--- a/mobile/android/tests/background/junit4/src/org/mozilla/gecko/util/TestURIUtils.java
+++ b/mobile/android/tests/background/junit4/src/org/mozilla/gecko/util/TestURIUtils.java
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 /* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
  * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
  * file, you can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
 
 package org.mozilla.gecko.util;
 
+import android.net.Uri;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 import org.mozilla.gecko.background.testhelpers.TestRunner;
 import org.robolectric.RuntimeEnvironment;
 
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.net.URISyntaxException;
@@ -143,32 +144,32 @@ public class TestURIUtils {
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testGetFormattedDomainIPv6() throws Exception {
         assertGetFormattedDomain("http://[3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf]", false, 0, "[3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf]");
         assertGetFormattedDomain("http://[3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf]", true, 0, "[3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf]");
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testGetFormattedDomainUnicode() throws Exception {
+        assertGetFormattedDomain("http://faß.de/", false, 0, "faß");
+        assertGetFormattedDomain("http://faß.de/", true, 0, "faß.de");
+    }
+
     @Test(expected = NullPointerException.class)
     public void testGetFormattedDomainNullContextThrows() throws Exception {
-        URIUtils.getFormattedDomain(null, new URI("http://google.com"), false, 0);
+        URIUtils.getFormattedDomain(null, Uri.parse("http://google.com"), false, 0);
     }
 
     @Test(expected = NullPointerException.class)
     public void testGetFormattedDomainNullURIThrows() throws Exception {
         URIUtils.getFormattedDomain(RuntimeEnvironment.application, null, false, 0);
     }
 
     private void assertGetFormattedDomain(final String uriString, final boolean includePublicSuffix,
             final int subdomainCount, final String expected) {
-        final URI uri;
-        try {
-            uri = new URI(uriString);
-        } catch (final URISyntaxException e) {
-            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid URI passed into test: " + uriString);
-        }
-
+        final Uri uri = Uri.parse(uriString);
         Assert.assertEquals("for input:" + uriString + "||",
                 expected,
                URIUtils.getFormattedDomain(RuntimeEnvironment.application, uri, includePublicSuffix, subdomainCount));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file