diff --git a/config.sample.inc.php b/config.sample.inc.php
index 9b7783b34603..36043b1b0550 100644
--- a/config.sample.inc.php
+++ b/config.sample.inc.php
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@
 declare(strict_types=1);
 
 /**
- * This is needed for cookie based authentication to encrypt the cookie.
- * Needs to be a 32-bytes long string of random bytes. See FAQ 2.10.
+ * This is needed for cookie-based authentication to encrypt the cookie.
+ * Needs to be a 32-byte long binary string (use `random_bytes(32)`)
+ * or a 64-character hexadecimal string (use `bin2hex(random_bytes(32))`).
  */
 $cfg['blowfish_secret'] = ''; /* YOU MUST FILL IN THIS FOR COOKIE AUTH! */
 
diff --git a/docs/config.rst b/docs/config.rst
index 317076d6d044..ce9779ad196b 100644
--- a/docs/config.rst
+++ b/docs/config.rst
@@ -1924,7 +1924,8 @@ Cookie authentication options
     will be used internally by the :term:`Sodium` extension: you won't be prompted for this encryption key.
 
     Since a binary string is usually not printable, it can be converted into a hexadecimal representation (using a
-    function like `sodium_bin2hex <https://www.php.net/sodium_bin2hex>`_) and then used in the configuration file. For
+    function like `sodium_bin2hex <https://www.php.net/sodium_bin2hex>`_) and then used in the configuration file.  
+    If a 64-character hexadecimal string is provided, phpMyAdmin will automatically convert it into a 32-byte binary string. For
     example:
 
     .. code-block:: php
@@ -1932,9 +1933,9 @@ Cookie authentication options
         // The string is a hexadecimal representation of a 32-bytes long string of random bytes.
         $cfg['blowfish_secret'] = sodium_hex2bin('f16ce59f45714194371b48fe362072dc3b019da7861558cd4ad29e4d6fb13851');
 
-    Using a binary string is recommended. However, if all 32 bytes of the string are visible
-    characters, then a function like `sodium_bin2hex <https://www.php.net/sodium_bin2hex>`_ is not required. For
-    example:
+        Using a binary string is recommended. However, if all 32 bytes of the string are visible
+        characters, then a function like `sodium_bin2hex <https://www.php.net/sodium_bin2hex>`_ is not required. For
+        example:
 
     .. code-block:: php
 
@@ -1943,9 +1944,9 @@ Cookie authentication options
 
     .. warning::
 
-        The encryption key must be 32 bytes long. If it is longer than the length of bytes, only the first 32 bytes will
-        be used, and if it is shorter, a new temporary key will be automatically generated for you. However, this
-        temporary key will only last for the duration of the session.
+        The encryption key must be 32 bytes long. If it is a 64-character hexadecimal string, it will be automatically converted to a 32-byte binary string.  
+        If it is longer than 32 bytes (excluding hex format), only the first 32 bytes will be used.  
+        If it is shorter, a new temporary key will be automatically generated for you. However, this temporary key will only last for the duration of the session.
 
     .. note::
 
diff --git a/src/Controllers/HomeController.php b/src/Controllers/HomeController.php
index 199d7648176f..6d0e0c45d6e3 100644
--- a/src/Controllers/HomeController.php
+++ b/src/Controllers/HomeController.php
@@ -314,6 +314,26 @@ private function checkRequirements(): void
             // This can happen if the user did use getenv() to set blowfish_secret
             $encryptionKeyLength = mb_strlen($config->settings['blowfish_secret'], '8bit');
 
+            // If the key is in hexadecimal and has a length of 64 characters (i.e., 32 bytes), then convert it to binary.
+            if ($encryptionKeyLength === 64 && ctype_xdigit($config->settings['blowfish_secret'])) {
+                // Convert the hexadecimal string to binary and override the original blowfish_secret
+                $binaryKey = hex2bin($config->settings['blowfish_secret']);
+                if ($binaryKey !== false) { // Ensure conversion is successful
+                    $config->settings['blowfish_secret'] = $binaryKey;
+                    $encryptionKeyLength = SODIUM_CRYPTO_SECRETBOX_KEYBYTES; // Update length
+                } else {
+                     // If hex2bin conversion fails, log an error or warning
+                    $this->errors[] = [
+                        'message' => __(
+                            'Invalid blowfish_secret format: Unable to convert hex string to binary.'
+                            . ' Please ensure it is a valid 64-character hexadecimal string.'
+                            . ' Refer to the [doc@cfg_blowfish_secret]documentation[/doc].',
+                        ),
+                        'severity' => 'error',
+                    ];
+                }
+            }
+
             if ($encryptionKeyLength < SODIUM_CRYPTO_SECRETBOX_KEYBYTES) {
                 $this->errors[] = [
                     'message' => __(