QR Code Scanner

How to scan a QR code here

1. 1

   Choose camera or image

   Tap Turn on camera and allow access, or choose Scan an image instead and pick a screenshot or photo from your files.

2. 2

   Hold the code steady

   Let the code fill about a third of the frame and keep it flat. Glare on glossy paper is the most common reason a code will not read, so tilt it slightly.

3. 3

   Read the result

   The content appears under What the code says. For a link, the website name is shown on its own line so you can check it.

4. 4

   Open or copy

   Tap Open link for an ordinary web address, or Copy to keep the content. Anything else is shown as text only.

Scan a QR code from an image or screenshot

Phone cameras read codes in front of them, not codes already on the screen. For a code in a PDF invoice, a WiFi code a friend sent in a chat or a screenshot of a ticket, choose Scan an image instead and pick the file. If nothing is found, crop closer to the code or use a sharper image.

Checking a QR code before you open it

QR phishing works because nobody reads a long address on a small screen: a sticker over a real code on a parking meter sends people to a copy of a payment page. This scanner is built around that risk.

• Nothing opens automatically

  A code is read and shown, and you decide whether to open it.

• The site name stands alone

  The domain appears on its own line, where a swapped character, like paypa1 instead of paypal, is easier to notice.

• Only web links get an Open button

  Codes containing scripts or unusual link types are shown as text and cannot be opened from here.

• Nothing leaves your device

  The camera feed and the result stay in the browser. MakeQR does not store what you scan.

QR code scanner on iPhone, Android and laptop

On a laptop, this page uses the webcam, and browsers only allow camera access on a secure https page. On phones, the built-in camera usually reads codes too; this scanner is for when you want to see the content first, or when the code is inside an image.

What the scanner can show you

Anything a QR code can hold: web addresses, WiFi strings, contact cards, email and SMS templates, phone numbers and plain text, shown as raw content. A WiFi code shows the network name and password, a handy way to recover a forgotten password from a code taped to a router.

WIFI:T:WPA;S:Harbor Office;P:tide-7719;;

Getting a clean read at any distance

A scanner reads most reliably when the code fills a third to half of the frame. Codes are meant to be scanned from about ten times their width: a 2 cm code on a card from about 20 cm, a poster code from a few meters. Move closer rather than zooming, since digital zoom blurs the modules.

Why a QR code will not scan

• Glare and curved surfaces

  Glossy labels, bottles and screens reflect light across the modules. Tilt the code or the phone until the reflection moves off it.

• Faint or inverted codes

  Light codes on dark backgrounds and pale colors are hard for many scanners. Better light or a sharper photo usually helps.

• It is not a QR code

  Barcodes on groceries, Data Matrix codes on parcels and Aztec codes on some tickets are different formats. This scanner reads QR codes only.

When a browser scanner helps

• Checking the address behind a sticker on a parking meter before paying.
• Reading a WiFi code from a photo a colleague sent, to type the password into a laptop.
• Scanning a code in a PDF ticket on the same phone that has the PDF open.