diff --git a/storage/ndb/include/ndbapi/NdbRecAttr.hpp b/storage/ndb/include/ndbapi/NdbRecAttr.hpp
index ac098831180..2161f8f0ba4 100644
--- a/storage/ndb/include/ndbapi/NdbRecAttr.hpp
+++ b/storage/ndb/include/ndbapi/NdbRecAttr.hpp
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ public:
    *
    * @return  Char value.
    */           
-  char  char_value() const;           
+  Int8  char_value() const;           
 
   /**
    * Get value stored in NdbRecAttr object.
@@ -309,10 +309,10 @@ NdbRecAttr::short_value() const
 }
 
 inline
-char
+Int8
 NdbRecAttr::char_value() const
 {
-  return *(char*)theRef;
+  return *(Int8*)theRef;
 }
 
 inline