How to scan a QR code

With the Camera app

1. Open the Camera app in normal photo mode. You do not need to take a picture.
2. Hold the phone so the whole code, including some of the white margin around it, fits in the frame.
3. Wait a moment for a yellow link preview to appear near the code or at the bottom of the screen.
4. Read the address in the preview, then tap it to open the page in your browser.

With the Code Scanner

iOS also has a dedicated scanner that opens straight into a viewfinder, with a torch button for dim places. Open Control Center and look for the Code Scanner control. If it is not there, add it from the Control Center customisation options — the exact steps vary between iOS versions, but the control is listed under the name Code Scanner.

If the Camera app never shows a preview, check that QR scanning has not been switched off in the Camera section of the Settings app. It is on by default, but the option exists.

Android phones are made by many manufacturers, so the labels differ, but there are three routes and at least one is on every recent phone.

The camera app

On most current phones, including Pixel and Samsung models, the default camera reads QR codes in photo mode. Point it at the code and tap the link that appears. Some manufacturers put this behind a setting with a name like Scan QR codes in the camera’s own settings menu, so check there if nothing happens.

Google Lens

Google Lens reads QR codes reliably on any Android phone. Open it from the Google app, from the camera icon in the Google search bar on the home screen, or as its own app, then point it at the code.

A quick settings tile

Recent Android versions offer a Scan QR code tile in the quick settings panel you pull down from the top of the screen. If you do not see it, edit the panel and drag the tile in. It opens a scanner without unlocking the camera app first.

If you are pointing the camera at a code and no preview appears, work through these in order. Most are a matter of seconds.

• Distance. Move back until the whole code fits comfortably in the frame, then move slowly closer. Too close is as bad as too far.
• Focus. Tap the code on the screen to make the camera focus on it, and hold the phone still for a second.
• Light. Turn on the torch in a dark room, or tilt the phone to get rid of reflections on glossy paper, glass, or a screen.
• Angle. Face the code square-on. A sharp angle squashes the pattern.
• Clean the lens. A fingerprint smear is enough to stop a small code reading.
• Settings. Check the QR scanning option in your camera settings, or switch to Google Lens or the Code Scanner.

If none of that works on two different phones, the code itself is probably at fault — too small, too dense, low in contrast, or cropped. QR code not scanning goes through the causes in detail.

The code is on your own screen — in a screenshot, an email, or a PDF? You cannot point the camera at the screen it is part of. See scanning a QR code from an image.

A QR code is just a link you cannot read until a phone decodes it. Both iPhone and Android show the address in the preview before opening anything, and that preview is your one chance to look at where you are going.

• Does the domain match the business or organisation whose sign you are looking at?
• Is it spelt correctly, with no extra letters or swapped characters?
• Is the code a sticker stuck on top of something else, such as a parking meter or a payment sign?
• Does the page immediately ask for a password, card details, or an app download?

If anything looks wrong, do not tap it; type the organisation’s address into your browser yourself instead. Are QR codes safe? covers the scams worth knowing about. To understand what the phone is actually reading, see how QR codes work.

Need a code of your own for a link? It takes one paste:Generate a QR code