How to Scan a QR Code With an Android Phone, on Any Brand

How to Scan a QR Code With the Android Camera

Open the camera app, hold the phone so the QR code fills about a third of the screen width, and tap the link or chip that appears over the code. Most Android camera apps released in the last several years detect QR codes in the default photo mode without any setting being changed.

1. Open the Camera App in Photo Mode. Use the rear camera in the default photo mode. Portrait, night and video modes often switch QR detection off.
2. Fill About a Third of the Screen Width With the QR Code. Move closer or further away until the QR code takes up roughly a third of the viewfinder, with its white margin fully inside the frame.
3. Hold Still for About a Second. The camera needs one sharp frame to detect the QR code. If the preview is blurred, tap the code on screen to focus on it.
4. Read the Address, Then Tap the Link. A link, a chip or a pop-up appears showing the web address in the QR code. Check the domain, then tap it to open the page in the browser.

If nothing appears after two or three seconds at a sensible distance, the camera app on that phone either does not scan QR codes or has the feature switched off. Rather than hunting through camera settings first, use the Scan QR code tile or Google Lens, described in the next two sections - both take less time than finding the setting.

How to Use the Scan QR Code Tile in Quick Settings

Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings, then tap Scan QR code. A scanner opens immediately and reads the QR code with no camera app involved. Google added the Scan QR code tile in Android 13, and the tile behaves the same way on every brand of phone.

Quick Settings is the panel of tiles that opens when the top of an Android screen is swiped down twice, holding shortcuts such as Wi-Fi, torch and Scan QR code. If the Scan QR code tile is not visible, it usually only needs to be added:

1. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings in full.
2. Tap the pencil icon, or the three-dot menu followed by Edit, to edit the tiles.
3. Find Scan QR code in the list of unused tiles and drag it into the active area.
4. Tap the back arrow. The Scan QR code tile now stays in Quick Settings.

The Scan QR code tile can be opened from the lock screen on most phones, which makes it the fastest route when the phone is in a pocket. The scanner also has its own torch button, so a QR code on a dim table or a dark poster can be lit without leaving the scanner.

A phone running Android 12 or earlier does not have the tile from Google, although Samsung added its own Scan QR code button to the Quick panel on earlier versions. To check the Android version, open Settings, then About phone, and read the Android version line.

How to Scan a QR Code With Google Lens

Open the Google app, tap the camera icon at the right of the search bar, and point the phone at the QR code. Google Lens draws the link over the code; tap it to open the page. Google Lens works on any Android phone with the Google app, regardless of what the camera app does.

Google Lens is the image recognition tool built into the Google app, Google Photos and many Android camera apps that reads QR codes, text and objects from the camera or from a saved image. There are usually three ways to reach it on an Android phone:

• The search bar on the home screen. The camera icon at the right-hand end of the Google search widget opens Google Lens directly.
• The camera app. Many Android camera apps have a Lens icon or a Lens entry under More or Modes.
• Google Photos. Opening any saved image and tapping Lens reads a QR code inside that image.

Google Lens needs an internet connection for most of what it recognises, but a QR code is decoded on the phone. A QR code that holds Wi-Fi credentials or plain text can therefore still be read with no connection, while a QR code that holds a web address needs a connection only to open the page afterwards.

Where the QR Scanner Is on Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi and Other Brands

Every major Android brand scans QR codes from its own camera app, but the setting that controls it is named and placed differently on each one. The table lists where the option typically sits; menu names shift between software versions, so treat the wording as a guide to what to look for rather than an exact label.

The practical rule for an unfamiliar Android phone is to skip the camera settings entirely. Swipe down twice, look for Scan QR code, and fall back to the camera icon in the Google search bar. That sequence works on a borrowed phone without knowing who made it.

How to Scan a QR Code From a Screenshot or Picture on Android

Open the screenshot or picture in Google Photos and tap the Lens button at the bottom of the screen. Google Lens finds the QR code inside the image and shows its link as a chip to tap. This is the route for a QR code that arrived in a chat, an email or a social post.

1. Take a screenshot by pressing the power button and the volume down button together, or save the image that contains the QR code.
2. Open the image in Google Photos. In another gallery app, use Share and choose Google Lens or Search image instead.
3. Tap Lens. Google Lens outlines the QR code and shows the address it holds.
4. Read the address, then tap it to open the page.

A QR code that is on the Android phone's own screen does not always need a screenshot. On phones with Circle to Search, touching and holding the navigation handle or the home button and then circling the QR code reads it in place. In Chrome, touching and holding an image of a QR code and choosing Search image with Google Lens does the same.

Where none of that is available - a phone without Google services, or a work profile with Lens disabled - upload the image to the QR code scanner. The scanner decodes the file in the browser on the phone itself, does not upload the image, and shows the decoded text in full rather than a link to tap.

How to Join Wi-Fi by Scanning a QR Code on Android

Any Android scanner joins a network from a Wi-Fi QR code, and Android 10 or later also has a scanner inside the Wi-Fi settings. Open Settings, then Network & internet, then Internet or Wi-Fi, scroll to Add network, and tap the QR icon at the right of that row.

The Wi-Fi settings scanner is useful when a camera app reads a Wi-Fi QR code as plain text, showing a line that begins with WIFI: instead of offering to connect. The settings scanner only understands Wi-Fi codes, so it always offers to join. Samsung places the same icon at the top of its Wi-Fi screen.

The same settings screen works in the other direction. Tapping the connected network and then Share shows a QR code that a guest can scan, after a fingerprint or PIN check. For a printed code that does not depend on a phone being present, the Wi-Fi QR code page covers how the format works and how to make one.

Why an Android Phone Will Not Scan a QR Code

An Android phone that will not scan a QR code usually has QR detection switched off in the camera app, is in the wrong camera mode, or is too far from the code. Work through the table in order; only the last row is a fault in the QR code itself.

Phones with several rear lenses add one failure of their own. At very close range the camera may switch to the ultra-wide lens for macro focus, which has less resolution and makes a small QR code harder to read. Holding the phone 15 to 20 cm away and zooming to 2x keeps the main lens in use and usually fixes it.

When a QR code fails on every phone rather than on one Android device, the problem is in the code. Why a QR code is not scanning works through the causes in the order they occur, from size and contrast to a trimmed quiet zone.

Does an Android Phone Need a QR Scanner App?

No. An Android phone with Google services already has Google Lens, and Android 13 or later adds the Scan QR code tile, so a scanner app from the Play Store duplicates what is installed. Free scanner apps are commonly funded by full-screen adverts, and a scanner has no need for contacts, location or storage permissions.

Before installing a scanner app, check what it asks for. A QR scanner needs the camera permission and nothing else. For a one-off scan on a phone with no working scanner, a decoder that runs in the browser does the job without an install. The general guide to scanning a QR code covers the safety side - checking a link before opening it, and the separate rule for login codes such as WhatsApp Web. For the other platform, see how to scan a QR code on an iPhone.