The iPhone's Camera app has scanned a QR code automatically since iOS 11, so there's no separate app to install for the ordinary case. Point the lens at the code and a banner offers to open the link; tap it and the destination opens.
What that misses is a Control Center shortcut called Code Scanner, and a code already saved in a photo instead of in front of the lens. This page covers how to add the shortcut, how iPad differs, and how to scan a saved image when MakeQR's browser reader takes over, on the device, with nothing installed.
Scanning a QR code with an iPhone
Open Camera and hold it steady
Point the Camera app at the code from roughly 10 to 20 centimeters away. A yellow-bordered notification appears near the top of the screen within a second or two; tap it to continue.
Add Code Scanner to Control Center for quicker access
In Settings, open Control Center and add Code Scanner. Swipe down from the top-right corner and tap its icon to jump straight into scan mode without opening Camera first.
Use Visual Look Up for a code already in a photo
Open the photo in the Photos app. If the code is recognized, a small icon appears in the corner of the image; tap it to see the content, or use MakeQR's browser scanner if Photos doesn't pick it up.
Set up the Scan QR Code shortcut for automation
In the Shortcuts app, search the gallery for Scan QR Code and add it, or build a shortcut that opens the scanner as one step in a longer routine, useful for a fixed workflow like clocking in at work.
The Control Center shortcut most people never add
Code Scanner is a Control Center tile, separate from Camera, that opens directly into scan mode instead of a full photo-taking interface. It has to be added manually the first time: Settings, Control Center, then find Code Scanner under More Controls and tap the green plus sign. Once it's added, it stays in Control Center on every phone running that iOS version until removed.
Reading a code that's on a screen, not on paper
Pointing an iPhone's camera at a QR code displayed on a laptop or TV screen usually works, but moiré patterns from one screen's refresh rate interfering with another's can occasionally stop it from focusing. If that happens, take a screenshot of the code on the source screen and open it with MakeQR's browser scanner instead, which reads an image file directly rather than a live camera feed.
iPad behaves the same way, with one difference
iPadOS reads QR codes through the Camera app exactly like iOS does, and the Code Scanner Control Center tile is available there too. The difference is that many iPads only have a rear camera and no cellular connection, so a code that opens an app requiring a phone number, like a two-factor login, may need to be finished on a phone instead.
What Camera is actually reading
The Camera app decodes the black-and-white pattern locally and reads out plain text, most often a web address. It shows a preview of that text in the notification banner before anything opens, which is the same principle MakeQR's browser scanner uses when checking a code from an uploaded image instead of a live camera.
https://example.com/menuDistance and angle that actually focus
Hold the phone roughly level with the code rather than at a sharp angle; iPhones tolerate some tilt but not much on a small code. If focus won't lock, move back a little first, since getting too close is a more common problem on iPhone than being too far.
Print it at least 20 mm (2.0 cm) wide
Where an iPhone scan goes wrong
Assuming a dark banner means a broken code
The notification banner can take a second or two to appear even on a good scan; tapping the shutter or backing away too fast can interrupt it before it finishes reading.
Opening a link straight from the banner without reading it
The banner shows the destination in small type, and a shortened or unfamiliar domain is easy to miss at a glance. Use MakeQR's scanner instead when a code looks like it might be a bait-and-switch sticker over a real one.
Fighting glare on a laminated card instead of tilting it
A laminated business card or menu insert under bright light reflects the flash and overhead lighting straight back at the lens; tilting the card a few degrees clears it faster than moving the phone.
Making your own code works the same across iPhone, Android and desktop
If this page brought you here because you want to create a code rather than read one, a static code from MakeQR is free, needs no account, and scans correctly with everything above. Dynamic is worth it only if the destination might change later; the first two dynamic codes stay free forever.
How dynamic QR codes workWhere iPhone owners run into QR codes day to day
- Joining a WiFi network at a coffee shop from a card taped to the counter.
- Checking in for a flight or event using a boarding pass code inside Wallet.
- Opening a restaurant's menu from a table tent with Code Scanner instead of unlocking the phone first.
- Adding a new contact from a QR code printed on a business card.