How to Scan a QR Code on an iPhone, From the Camera or From a Photo

How to Scan a QR Code With the iPhone Camera

Open the Camera app in Photo mode, point the rear camera at the QR code, and tap the yellow link label that appears on screen. The iPhone Camera app detects QR codes automatically on iOS 11 or later, so there is no scanning mode to switch on and no shutter button to press.

1. Open the Camera App in Photo Mode. Swipe left on the Lock Screen or tap the Camera icon. Stay in Photo mode and use the rear camera, which focuses closer than the front one.
2. Frame the QR Code at About a Third of the Screen Width. Move the iPhone closer or further away until the QR code takes up roughly a third of the viewfinder. The whole code, including its white margin, has to be inside the frame.
3. Hold Still Until the Yellow Link Appears. Detection needs one sharp frame, which usually takes about a second. If the preview keeps hunting for focus, tap the QR code on screen to lock focus on it.
4. Read the Domain, Then Tap the Link. The yellow label shows the web domain the QR code points to. Tapping it opens the address in Safari, or offers the matching action for a Wi-Fi, contact or calendar code.

The position of the link depends on the iOS version. Current versions of iOS draw a yellow label close to the QR code inside the viewfinder, with a small QR icon in the corner of the screen; older versions showed a notification banner at the top of the screen instead. Both do the same thing when tapped.

An iPhone does not need to take a picture of a QR code. Pressing the shutter only saves a photo of the code to the library - which still works, because the saved photo can be read later through Photos, but it is the slow route.

Every Built-In Way to Scan a QR Code on an iPhone

An iPhone has four built-in QR code readers, and the right one depends on where the QR code is: in front of the phone, in the photo library, or on the iPhone's own screen. None of the four requires a download.

How to Add the Code Scanner to Control Centre

Code Scanner is the QR code reader built into iOS that opens from Control Centre or from a search, separately from the Camera app. Add it once and a QR scanner is one swipe and one tap away from any screen, including the Lock Screen.

1. On iOS 18 or later: open Control Centre, touch and hold an empty area until the controls start to edit, tap Add a Control, and search for Scan Code.
2. On iOS 17 or earlier: open Settings, tap Control Centre, and tap the green plus button beside Code Scanner.
3. On any version, without adding anything: swipe down on the Home Screen to open search, type Code Scanner, and tap the result.

Code Scanner differs from the Camera app in three ways that matter in practice. Code Scanner has a torch button inside the scanning view, so a QR code on a dim menu or a dark poster can be lit without leaving the scanner. Code Scanner opens a scanned web address immediately instead of waiting for a tap. And Code Scanner shows the page in its own browser sheet rather than in Safari, so the page closes with the scanner - use the Safari button on that sheet to keep the page open.

Because Code Scanner opens a link without a confirmation tap, the Camera app is the better choice for a QR code from an unknown source. The Camera app shows the domain first and opens nothing until the label is tapped.

How to Scan a QR Code From a Photo or Screenshot on an iPhone

Open the photo or screenshot in the Photos app, then touch and hold the QR code inside the image. A menu appears with the decoded link and an option to open it. This works through Live Text, which needs an iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later and iOS 15 or later.

Live Text is the iOS feature that recognises text and QR codes inside photos, screenshots and the camera view. When Photos detects something readable, a Live Text button - a small square with lines of text in it - appears in the corner of the image. Tapping that button highlights everything Photos found, including the QR code.

1. Take the screenshot, or save the image that contains the QR code to Photos.
2. Open the image in Photos and zoom in if the QR code is small in the picture.
3. Touch and hold the QR code until the menu appears.
4. Read the address shown at the top of the menu, then choose the option to open it in Safari.

If nothing happens on a touch and hold, check Settings, then General, then Language & Region, and confirm that Live Text is switched on. If the iPhone is older than an iPhone XS, Live Text is not available at all, and the image needs a decoder instead: upload the screenshot to the QR code scanner, which reads the file in the browser on the iPhone itself and shows the decoded text.

A decoder that prints the text has one advantage over a touch and hold, even on a new iPhone. A touch and hold offers a link to tap; a decoder shows the full address as plain text, which is the safer way to inspect a QR code that arrived from a stranger.

How to Scan a QR Code That Is on Your iPhone Screen

Touch and hold the image of the QR code. In Safari, Messages and Mail, an iPhone recognises a QR code inside an image and offers to open its link, so a QR code on the iPhone's own screen does not need a second phone to photograph it.

Where a touch and hold does nothing - inside some third-party apps, a video, or a PDF viewer - take a screenshot instead. Press the side button and the volume up button together, then open the screenshot in Photos and touch and hold the QR code there.

A QR code shown on a laptop, a TV or another phone is a different case and needs nothing special: point the iPhone Camera at the other screen. Turn the other screen's brightness up first, because a dim display loses contrast quickly when photographed.

Which iPhones Can Scan a QR Code Without an App

Every iPhone that runs iOS 11 or later scans QR codes in the Camera app, which means the iPhone 5s, released in 2013, and every model since. An iPhone 5, iPhone 5c or older cannot update to iOS 11 and needs a third-party scanner app or a browser-based decoder.

Why an iPhone Will Not Scan a QR Code

An iPhone that will not scan a QR code is almost always too far from the code, out of focus, or has Scan QR Codes switched off in Settings. Work through the table in order; only the last two rows are faults in the QR code rather than in the attempt.

A smudged lens is worth ruling out early. An iPhone lens carried in a pocket picks up a film of grease that softens fine detail, and a QR code is nothing but fine detail. Wipe the lens with a soft cloth before concluding that the code is broken.

When the QR code fails on every phone and not just one iPhone, the problem is in the code. Why a QR code is not scanning covers the causes in the order they occur, from size and contrast to a trimmed quiet zone.

What an iPhone Does After Scanning Each Type of QR Code

An iPhone chooses the action from the text stored in the QR code, so the same scan can open Safari, join a network or create a contact. The yellow label names the action before anything happens, which is the moment to check it.

Three related topics sit outside this page. The general guide to scanning a QR code covers checking a link for quishing and the separate rule for login codes such as WhatsApp Web, and how to scan a QR code with an Android phone covers the same routes for the other platform. The Wi-Fi QR code page covers what is stored in a network code and how to make one.

Does an iPhone Need a QR Scanner App?

No. An iPhone on iOS 11 or later reads standard QR codes in the Camera app, and a third-party scanner adds nothing for ordinary links, Wi-Fi codes and contact cards. App Store scanner apps commonly carry adverts or a subscription for a function that iOS already includes.

A separate app is justified in three narrow cases: an iPhone too old for iOS 11, a need to keep a searchable history of scans, or scanning of retail barcode formats in bulk for stock-taking. For a one-off scan on an old iPhone, a decoder that runs in Safari avoids installing anything.