When you need to scan a QR code from an image

Most QR codes are made to be scanned off a wall or a screen. But a lot of the time you don't have that. Someone texts you a picture of a code. You get a PDF invitation with one printed in the corner. You take a photo of a poster, walk away, and only later want to know what it said.

In every one of those cases the code is already a picture on your device. You don't need to go back and point a camera at anything. Upload the picture and read it from there.

How to scan a QR code from an image

1. Press the upload button on this page, or drag your image onto the box.
2. Choose the picture from your gallery or files.
3. The result shows up as soon as the code is read.
4. Check what it says before you open it.

JPG, PNG, and WebP files all work. If your image is in another format, a screenshot of it will do the job.

Taking a screenshot of a QR code

If the code is on your screen and you can't save it as a file, screenshot it.

On an iPhone, press the side button and the volume up button together. On most Android phones it's the power button and volume down. On Windows, press Windows + Shift + S and drag over the code. On a Mac, use Command + Shift + 4.

Crop the picture so the code fills most of it. Leave a little white space around the edges, though. A code that's trimmed right up to its edge is often the one that fails.

Scanning a photo of a printed code

A photo of a code on paper or a sign is trickier than a clean screenshot, but it usually works if you keep a few things in mind:

• Hold the phone straight in front of the code, not at an angle.
• Watch out for glare, especially on glossy paper and shop windows.
• Get close enough that the code takes up a good part of the frame, and let the camera focus before you shoot.
• Make sure the whole code is inside the picture, including the three big squares in the corners.

If it still won't read, take the photo again in better light.

If your image won't scan

A few common reasons:

• The picture is too small or blurry. A code that's been shrunk down and stretched back up loses the detail the scanner needs.
• The code is cut off, or the white border is missing. Both make it much harder to read.
• The picture has more than one code in it, or a lot going on around it. Crop it down to just one code.
• The code is damaged, faded, or partly covered by a logo or sticker. Some can survive that, and some can't.
• You uploaded something that isn't a QR code. Barcodes, for example, look similar but are read by a different kind of scanner.
  
  

What's inside the code?

Usually a website address. But a QR code can also hold plain text, a phone number, an email, a text message, Wi-Fi login details, a contact card, a map pin, or a calendar event. Once the scan finishes you'll see the raw content, so you know what you're dealing with before your phone acts on it.

Be careful with codes from images

A QR code in a picture is easy to fake, and there's no way to judge it by eye. Codes turn up in messages from unknown numbers, in emails asking you to "verify" something, and stuck over real ones in public places.

Read the full address you get back. A single swapped letter in a familiar name is a classic sign. If it wants a password, a card number, or a payment you didn't plan on, stop there.