What potential pitfalls should be considered when using mb_convert_encoding() in PHP?

When using mb_convert_encoding() in PHP, potential pitfalls to consider include incorrect input encoding detection, loss of data due to charset conversion errors, and performance issues when converting large amounts of data. To mitigate these risks, always specify the input encoding explicitly, handle conversion errors gracefully, and consider the impact on performance when processing large datasets.

// Specify input and output encodings explicitly to avoid detection issues
$input = "Some text to convert";
$output = mb_convert_encoding($input, 'UTF-8', 'ISO-8859-1');

// Handle conversion errors gracefully
if ($output === false) {
    echo "Conversion error occurred";
}

// Consider performance impact when converting large amounts of data
// Use mb_convert_encoding() within a loop to process data in smaller chunks