Chances are you’ve seen a distinctive black-and-white square plastered somewhere on a menu, box, or subway station. These are QR codes. The initials stand for Quick Response, and these unmistakable square codes were designed to pack lots of information into an easy and fast-scanning format. They were invented in 1994, grew insanely popular, disappeared, and then made a comeback—mostly because you no longer need a dedicated app to use them.
Nowadays, QR codes are used for everything from augmented reality advertisements to authenticating designer jeans, to sharing Wi-Fi passwords. More recently, QR codes are a crucial component of Covid-19 tracking programs in many countries, offering people a speedy way to check-in at different locations. They’re also increasingly employed in restaurants and retail stores as shortcuts to digital menus and order systems, and in some countries, you can pay with them without having to touch anything.
Luckily, QR codes are very easy to use. Most smartphones have the ability to scan QR codes baked into the camera. We will show you how to do this, but we’ll also cover what to do if you have an older phone. Wait, do you need a phone first? Check out our guides to the Best Cheap Phones or our guide to how to factory-reset your old phone.
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If You Have an iPhone
Apple introduced QR code support in 2017. Every iPhone running iOS 11 or later can scan a QR code directly from the camera app. Here’s how:
- Open the camera app.
- Select the rear-facing camera in Photo mode.
- Center the QR code you want to scan on the screen and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds.
- Tap the notification that pops up to open the link. (You will need to be connected to the internet to do this.)
If You Have an Android Phone
Google introduced QR code support in 2018, so most, but not all, phones running Android 9 or later can scan QR codes from the camera app. Here’s how:
- Open the camera app.
- Select the rear-facing camera in Photo or Camera mode.
- Center the QR code that you want to scan on the screen and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds.
- Tap the notification that pops up to open the link. (You will need to be connected to the internet to do this.)
How to Scan with Google Lens
Annoyingly, there’s no easy way to check whether your Android phone can scan QR codes from the camera app without trying it first. If your camera app doesn’t seem to work for you, Google Lens is a good alternative.
Google’s image-recognition technology can scan QR codes, among other things. It’s baked into Google Assistant, Google Photos, or the Google app on most Android phones, or you can also install the Google Lens app for free. Here’s how to use it:
- Tap the color lens icon in Google Assistant, or open the Google Lens app.
- Select the Search mode.
- Center the QR code that you want to scan on the screen and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds.
- Tap the notification that pops up to open the link. (You will need to be connected to the internet to do this.)
Use a QR Code Scanning App
Unfortunately, Google Lens mysteriously doesn’t work on certain phones, but don’t worry, there is another way. If both the camera app and Google Lens fail to work for your Android phone, it may be time to try a third-party QR code scanner app.
There are tons of them in the Play Store, but most are filled with ads and demand a suspiciously long list of permissions. We recommend the open-source app QR Code No Ads because it only requires permission to access your camera and it’s ad-free. Here’s how to use it:
