diff --git a/src/QROptionsTrait.php b/src/QROptionsTrait.php
index 5ce144aba..74c384b13 100644
--- a/src/QROptionsTrait.php
+++ b/src/QROptionsTrait.php
@@ -77,8 +77,9 @@ trait QROptionsTrait{
 	 * valid modes are: Number, AlphaNum, Kanji, Byte (case insensitive)
 	 *
 	 * @see https://github.com/chillerlan/php-qrcode/issues/39
+     * @see https://github.com/chillerlan/php-qrcode/issues/97 (changed default value to '')
 	 */
-	protected ?string $dataModeOverride = null;
+	protected string $dataModeOverride = '';
 
 	/**
 	 * The output type