diff --git a/src/client/panes/grid.rs b/src/client/panes/grid.rs
index c6dd201e2f..0f36284b76 100644
--- a/src/client/panes/grid.rs
+++ b/src/client/panes/grid.rs
@@ -196,6 +196,9 @@ impl Grid {
             clear_viewport_before_rendering: false,
         }
     }
+    pub fn contains_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        self.viewport.iter().any(|c| c.contains_widechar())
+    }
     pub fn advance_to_next_tabstop(&mut self, styles: CharacterStyles) {
         let columns_until_next_tabstop = TABSTOP_WIDTH - (self.cursor.x % TABSTOP_WIDTH);
         let columns_until_screen_end = self.width - self.cursor.x;
@@ -1156,6 +1159,9 @@ impl Row {
         self.is_canonical = true;
         self
     }
+    pub fn contains_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        self.columns.iter().any(|c| c.is_widechar())
+    }
     pub fn add_character_at(&mut self, terminal_character: TerminalCharacter, x: usize) {
         match self.columns.len().cmp(&x) {
             Ordering::Equal => self.columns.push(terminal_character),
diff --git a/src/client/panes/plugin_pane.rs b/src/client/panes/plugin_pane.rs
index 21480ac227..c3b633ecc5 100644
--- a/src/client/panes/plugin_pane.rs
+++ b/src/client/panes/plugin_pane.rs
@@ -96,6 +96,9 @@ impl Pane for PluginPane {
     fn position_and_size_override(&self) -> Option<PositionAndSize> {
         self.position_and_size_override
     }
+    fn contains_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        false
+    }
     fn should_render(&self) -> bool {
         self.should_render
     }
diff --git a/src/client/panes/terminal_character.rs b/src/client/panes/terminal_character.rs
index 7569e9933b..94620bba7b 100644
--- a/src/client/panes/terminal_character.rs
+++ b/src/client/panes/terminal_character.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+use unicode_width::UnicodeWidthChar;
+
 use crate::utils::logging::debug_log_to_file;
 use ::std::fmt::{self, Debug, Display, Formatter};
 
@@ -634,3 +636,13 @@ impl ::std::fmt::Debug for TerminalCharacter {
         write!(f, "{}", self.character)
     }
 }
+
+impl TerminalCharacter {
+    pub fn width(&self) -> usize {
+        self.character.width().unwrap_or(0)
+    }
+
+    pub fn is_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        self.width() > 1
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/client/panes/terminal_pane.rs b/src/client/panes/terminal_pane.rs
index ddb108893e..a5a957e673 100644
--- a/src/client/panes/terminal_pane.rs
+++ b/src/client/panes/terminal_pane.rs
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ impl Pane for TerminalPane {
         for byte in bytes.iter() {
             self.vte_parser.advance(&mut self.grid, *byte);
         }
+        self.set_should_render(true);
     }
     fn cursor_coordinates(&self) -> Option<(usize, usize)> {
         // (x, y)
@@ -138,6 +139,9 @@ impl Pane for TerminalPane {
     fn position_and_size_override(&self) -> Option<PositionAndSize> {
         self.position_and_size_override
     }
+    fn contains_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        self.grid.contains_widechar()
+    }
     fn should_render(&self) -> bool {
         self.grid.should_render
     }
@@ -166,14 +170,7 @@ impl Pane for TerminalPane {
         self.max_width
     }
     fn render(&mut self) -> Option<String> {
-        // FIXME:
-        // the below conditional is commented out because it causes several bugs:
-        // 1. When panes are resized or tabs are switched the previous contents of the screen stick
-        //    around
-        // 2. When there are wide characters in a pane, since we don't yet handle them properly,
-        //    the spill over to the pane to the right
-        // if self.should_render || cfg!(test) {
-        if true {
+        if self.should_render() {
             let mut vte_output = String::new();
             let buffer_lines = &self.read_buffer_as_lines();
             let display_cols = self.get_columns();
@@ -215,7 +212,7 @@ impl Pane for TerminalPane {
                 }
                 character_styles.clear();
             }
-            self.grid.should_render = false;
+            self.set_should_render(false);
             Some(vte_output)
         } else {
             None
@@ -274,15 +271,15 @@ impl Pane for TerminalPane {
     }
     fn scroll_up(&mut self, count: usize) {
         self.grid.move_viewport_up(count);
-        self.grid.should_render = true;
+        self.set_should_render(true);
     }
     fn scroll_down(&mut self, count: usize) {
         self.grid.move_viewport_down(count);
-        self.grid.should_render = true;
+        self.set_should_render(true);
     }
     fn clear_scroll(&mut self) {
         self.grid.reset_viewport();
-        self.grid.should_render = true;
+        self.set_should_render(true);
     }
 
     fn active_at(&self) -> Instant {
@@ -337,6 +334,7 @@ impl TerminalPane {
         let rows = self.get_rows();
         let columns = self.get_columns();
         self.grid.change_size(rows, columns);
+        self.set_should_render(true);
     }
     pub fn read_buffer_as_lines(&self) -> Vec<Vec<TerminalCharacter>> {
         self.grid.as_character_lines()
diff --git a/src/client/tab.rs b/src/client/tab.rs
index f9d98acee2..f9bf7b57a0 100644
--- a/src/client/tab.rs
+++ b/src/client/tab.rs
@@ -102,6 +102,9 @@ pub trait Pane {
     fn position_and_size_override(&self) -> Option<PositionAndSize>;
     fn should_render(&self) -> bool;
     fn set_should_render(&mut self, should_render: bool);
+    // FIXME: this method is used to trigger a force render to hide widechar problem
+    // it should be removed when we can handle widechars
+    fn contains_widechar(&self) -> bool;
     fn selectable(&self) -> bool;
     fn set_selectable(&mut self, selectable: bool);
     fn set_invisible_borders(&mut self, invisible_borders: bool);
@@ -694,18 +697,31 @@ impl Tab {
     pub fn toggle_fullscreen_is_active(&mut self) {
         self.fullscreen_is_active = !self.fullscreen_is_active;
     }
+    pub fn set_force_render(&mut self) {
+        for pane in self.panes.values_mut() {
+            pane.set_should_render(true);
+        }
+    }
     pub fn is_sync_panes_active(&self) -> bool {
         self.synchronize_is_active
     }
     pub fn toggle_sync_panes_is_active(&mut self) {
         self.synchronize_is_active = !self.synchronize_is_active;
     }
+    pub fn panes_contain_widechar(&self) -> bool {
+        self.panes.iter().any(|(_, p)| p.contains_widechar())
+    }
     pub fn render(&mut self) {
         if self.active_terminal.is_none() {
             // we might not have an active terminal if we closed the last pane
             // in that case, we should not render as the app is exiting
             return;
         }
+        // if any pane contain widechar, all pane in the same row will messup. We should render them every time
+        // FIXME: remove this when we can handle widechars correctly
+        if self.panes_contain_widechar() {
+            self.set_force_render()
+        }
         let mut stdout = self.os_api.get_stdout_writer();
         let mut boundaries = Boundaries::new(
             self.full_screen_ws.columns as u16,
diff --git a/src/common/screen.rs b/src/common/screen.rs
index bc68f2eabd..eee1166ff4 100644
--- a/src/common/screen.rs
+++ b/src/common/screen.rs
@@ -151,8 +151,9 @@ impl Screen {
         let active_tab_pos = self.get_active_tab().unwrap().position;
         let new_tab_pos = (active_tab_pos + 1) % self.tabs.len();
 
-        for tab in self.tabs.values() {
+        for tab in self.tabs.values_mut() {
             if tab.position == new_tab_pos {
+                tab.set_force_render();
                 self.active_tab_index = Some(tab.index);
                 break;
             }
@@ -169,8 +170,9 @@ impl Screen {
         } else {
             active_tab_pos - 1
         };
-        for tab in self.tabs.values() {
+        for tab in self.tabs.values_mut() {
             if tab.position == new_tab_pos {
+                tab.set_force_render();
                 self.active_tab_index = Some(tab.index);
                 break;
             }
@@ -181,9 +183,10 @@ impl Screen {
 
     pub fn go_to_tab(&mut self, mut tab_index: usize) {
         tab_index -= 1;
-        let active_tab = self.get_active_tab().unwrap();
-        if let Some(t) = self.tabs.values().find(|t| t.position == tab_index) {
-            if t.index != active_tab.index {
+        let active_tab_index = self.get_active_tab().unwrap().index;
+        if let Some(t) = self.tabs.values_mut().find(|t| t.position == tab_index) {
+            if t.index != active_tab_index {
+                t.set_force_render();
                 self.active_tab_index = Some(t.index);
                 self.update_tabs();
                 self.render();
@@ -227,6 +230,7 @@ impl Screen {
         for (_, tab) in self.tabs.iter_mut() {
             tab.resize_whole_tab(new_screen_size);
         }
+        let _ = self.get_active_tab_mut().map(|t| t.set_force_render());
         self.render();
     }