How to scan QR codes
On every phone, computer and browser
Most phones scan QR codes with the camera app, but computers, older phones and screenshots each need a different approach. The guides below cover every common device, and each page has a scanner that reads codes in your browser — from the camera or an image — without uploading anything.
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Barcode Scanner for QR Code
A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode, and a laser scanner built for retail checkout, the kind that sweeps a beam across a UPC, usually can't decode one. A camera-based scanner, including any phone camera or a browser tool like MakeQR's, reads a QR code fine. MakeQR reads QR codes only, not UPC or EAN barcodes.
How to Scan a QR Code on an iPhone
Open the Camera app, point it at the code, and tap the banner that appears on screen; iPhones have scanned QR codes this way since iOS 11. A Control Center shortcut named Code Scanner opens the camera straight into scan mode, and MakeQR's browser scanner reads a code saved in a photo when the camera can't.
QR Code Reader for Chromebook
ChromeOS's own Camera app has a QR and barcode scan mode: open Camera, switch to the scan icon, and point the lens at the code. If the Chromebook only has a front-facing camera, or the code is already saved as an image, MakeQR's browser scanner reads it from a webcam or an upload instead.
QR Code Reader for Computer
On Windows 11, open the Camera app, switch to Barcode mode and hold the QR code up to the webcam. For a code that is already on your screen, or on any other computer, use MakeQR's browser scanner: it reads a webcam feed or an uploaded screenshot, with nothing installed and no account.
QR Code Scanner App for Android
Most Android phones already read a QR code through the stock Camera app, no separate scanner needed. If that doesn't respond, Google Lens is the built-in fallback. When neither works, MakeQR's browser scanner reads a live code or an uploaded photo, on the device, with no install and no account.
QR Code Scanner App for Mac
A Mac has no dedicated QR scanner app, but three routes work: a browser scan through the built-in FaceTime camera, Live Text in Preview or Photos on macOS Monterey and later, which can read a code inside an opened image, or a screenshot uploaded to MakeQR's scanner. None require installing anything.
QR Code Scanner for WiFi
Point a phone's Camera app at a WiFi QR code and it shows a Join button instead of opening a browser, connecting automatically without entering the password. If a phone displays the code as plain text rather than a join prompt, upload it to MakeQR's scanner instead, which reveals the network name and password directly.
Scan an Image for a QR Code
Upload a screenshot, photo, or PDF page to MakeQR's browser scanner and choose Scan an image. It reads the code directly from the file, on the device, and shows the destination before you open it. This covers a code buried in an email or a document, where no camera can point at it directly.
How to scan QR codes: questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask before they print. Anything else, write to us.