How to Scan a QR Code on iPhone, Android, Laptop or Screenshot
Most phones read QR codes with the camera app, no extra app needed. The trickier cases are codes inside a screenshot, a WhatsApp image or an email on the same phone, and codes you need to read on a computer.
Here is how to handle each one, plus a quick safety check before you open what you scanned.
On an iPhone
- Open the Camera app and point it at the code. Hold steady for a second.
- A yellow banner or link appears above the code. Tap it to open the link, join the Wi-Fi network or save the contact.
- If nothing appears, check Settings, Camera, and turn on “Scan QR Codes”. The Code Scanner in Control Centre works too.
On an Android phone
- Open the camera app and point it at the code. Most phones from the last few years show a link or a small QR icon.
- If your camera does not react, use Google Lens: open the Google app and tap the camera icon in the search bar, or use the Lens shortcut in the camera.
- Wi-Fi codes can also be scanned from Wi-Fi settings, using the QR icon next to “Add network”.
From a screenshot, photo or WhatsApp image
A phone camera cannot scan a code that is on its own screen. Save the image or take a screenshot, then read it from the picture.
- iPhone (iOS 16 or later): open the screenshot in Photos and press and hold the code. If no menu appears, tap the Live Text icon and press and hold again.
- Android: open the image in Google Photos and tap Lens, or share the image to Google Lens.
- Any phone or computer: open the QRizeo scanner and choose “Upload image”, or paste the screenshot with Ctrl/Cmd + V.
On a laptop or desktop
Open the scanner page in your browser. Use “Start camera” with a webcam, or upload a saved image. Images and camera frames are processed in your browser and never uploaded.
In Chrome on Android, ChromeOS and macOS, the scanner can also read barcodes (EAN, UPC, Code 128 and more). Other browsers read QR codes only; the page tells you which applies.
Check before you open
The scanner never opens a link by itself. It shows the full content first, with the website name highlighted, and runs a safety check on your device. It warns about fake “scan to receive money” UPI requests, look-alike bank and shopping sites, short links that hide the destination, and links that download app files.
No warning does not prove a code is safe. Before you pay or log in, look at the website name and, for UPI, the payee name your app shows.
When a code will not scan
- Move back a little: being too close stops the camera from focusing.
- Tilt the phone to avoid reflections on glossy paper or screens.
- Clean the camera lens; a smudge is a surprisingly common cause.
- For damaged or tiny codes, photograph them and use “Upload image” in the scanner, which retries at several sizes.