diff --git a/src/plots/cartesian/set_convert.js b/src/plots/cartesian/set_convert.js
index c477b13c395..af34c0febe1 100644
--- a/src/plots/cartesian/set_convert.js
+++ b/src/plots/cartesian/set_convert.js
@@ -185,6 +185,10 @@ module.exports = function setConvert(ax, fullLayout) {
         if(isNumeric(v)) return +v;
     }
 
+    function getRangePosition(v) {
+        return isNumeric(v) ? +v : getCategoryIndex(v);
+    }
+
     // include 2 fractional digits on pixel, for PDF zooming etc
     function _l2p(v, m, b) { return d3.round(b + m * v, 2); }
 
@@ -316,12 +320,12 @@ module.exports = function setConvert(ax, fullLayout) {
         ax.d2r = ax.d2l_noadd = getCategoryPosition;
 
         ax.r2c = function(v) {
-            var index = getCategoryPosition(v);
+            var index = getRangePosition(v);
             return index !== undefined ? index : ax.fraction2r(0.5);
         };
 
         ax.l2r = ax.c2r = ensureNumber;
-        ax.r2l = getCategoryPosition;
+        ax.r2l = getRangePosition;
 
         ax.d2p = function(v) { return ax.l2p(ax.r2c(v)); };
         ax.p2d = function(px) { return getCategoryName(p2l(px)); };
diff --git a/test/image/baselines/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.png b/test/image/baselines/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f919fffe294
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/image/baselines/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.png differ
diff --git a/test/image/mocks/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.json b/test/image/mocks/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3585b6f479a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/image/mocks/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category.json
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+{
+  "data": [
+    {
+      "x": ["1.5", "2.5", "3.5", "Not Known"],
+      "y": ["1.0", "1.0", "2.0", "1.0"],
+      "type": "bar"
+    }
+  ],
+  "layout": {
+    "xaxis": {
+      "type": "category",
+      "autorange": true
+    },
+    "annotations": [
+      {
+        "x": "Not Known",
+        "y": 1,
+        "text": "Should point to category",
+        "showarrow": true
+      },
+      {
+        "x": 1.5,
+        "y": 1.0,
+        "text": "Should point to serial number",
+        "showarrow": true
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/jasmine/tests/axes_test.js b/test/jasmine/tests/axes_test.js
index bd1c5c4a1cd..08c55a20360 100644
--- a/test/jasmine/tests/axes_test.js
+++ b/test/jasmine/tests/axes_test.js
@@ -1781,6 +1781,25 @@ describe('Test axes', function() {
         });
     });
 
+    describe('bar category autorange', function() {
+        var gd;
+
+        beforeEach(function() {
+            gd = createGraphDiv();
+        });
+
+        afterEach(destroyGraphDiv);
+
+        describe('a category has the same value of one of the auto range computed extreme', function() {
+            it('should compute the right range for X axis', function() {
+                Plotly.plot(gd, [{x: ['0', '-0.5', '3.5', 'Not Known'], y: [ '1.0', '1.0', '2.0', '1.0'], type: 'bar'}], {
+                    xaxis: {type: 'category', autorange: true}
+                });
+                expect(gd._fullLayout.xaxis._rl).toEqual([-0.5, 3.5]);
+            });
+        });
+    });
+
     describe('handleTickDefaults', function() {
         var data = [{ x: [1, 2, 3], y: [3, 4, 5] }];
         var gd;
diff --git a/test/jasmine/tests/mock_test.js b/test/jasmine/tests/mock_test.js
index 00ead5f8508..86825fc7e0d 100644
--- a/test/jasmine/tests/mock_test.js
+++ b/test/jasmine/tests/mock_test.js
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ var list = [
     'bar_hide_nulls',
     'bar_line',
     'bar_marker_array',
+    'bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category',
     'bar_multiline_labels',
     'bar_nonnumeric_sizes',
     'bar_show_narrow',
@@ -1181,6 +1182,7 @@ figs['bar_group_percent'] = require('@mocks/bar_group_percent');
 figs['bar_hide_nulls'] = require('@mocks/bar_hide_nulls');
 figs['bar_line'] = require('@mocks/bar_line');
 figs['bar_marker_array'] = require('@mocks/bar_marker_array');
+figs['bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category'] = require('@mocks/bar_annotation_max_range_eq_category');
 figs['bar_multiline_labels'] = require('@mocks/bar_multiline_labels');
 figs['bar_nonnumeric_sizes'] = require('@mocks/bar_nonnumeric_sizes');
 figs['bar_show_narrow'] = require('@mocks/bar_show_narrow');