diff --git a/platformio/util.py b/platformio/util.py
index 11364072..5fe186d7 100644
--- a/platformio/util.py
+++ b/platformio/util.py
@@ -794,6 +794,15 @@ def merge_dicts(d1, d2, path=None):
     return d1
 
 
+def get_file_contents(path):
+    try:
+        with open(path) as f:
+            return f.read()
+    except UnicodeDecodeError:
+        with open(path, encoding="latin-1") as f:
+            return f.read()
+
+
 def ensure_udev_rules():
 
     def _rules_to_set(rules_path):