How to Scan QR code from an Image on an iPhone

How to Scan QR code from an Image on an iPhone.

Scanning a QR code is very easy; you pull out your phone, point your camera at the code and voila, you just got the information. But what if you need to scan a QR code stored on your iPhone? Well, pulling out another phone to scan is one way, but I have a better way. Let’s see how to scan a QR code from a picture on an iPhone.

How to scan a QR code from an image

1. Third-party application

IPhone has a built-in QR code scanner built into the Camera app. However, there is no way to read this QR code from photos. Qrafter is a simple application that can also scan QR code from a photo. Start by installing the app on your iPhone. Then open the application after the installation is complete and click “Scan from Photo Albums”. The app also allows you to move and scale the image, this will provide faster response times from the application, since it does not need to scan the entire image for code.

Also Read: 4 QR Code Apps to Share Wi-Fi Password from One Phone to Another

Tap the QR code image and it will reveal the information hidden in the QR code. Then you can copy the information to the clipboard, send it via text message or email, etc.

The app is smart enough to provide you with additional options if the QR code contains more information than plain text. For example, if you scan a QR code with a YouTube URL in it, it will give you the option to open the URL, watch the video in the app, send it via email, etc.

Although the app is easy to use, it shows you ads every time you want to scan a QR code from an image. Also, you need to manually open the photo in the app to get the information. If you are going to scan images with QR codes more often, the following method will be more useful for you.

2. Google photos

If you don’t like Google Photos yet, here’s a good reason to install it on your iPhone. Google Photos has a built-in Google Lens that can recognize objects in any photo, including QR codes. Just install the Google Photos app from the App Store. Open the app and give it access to your Camera Roll. When you see all the images in the app, open the image with the QR code.

Must Read: 10 Google Photos Tips & Tricks (2020)

Click on the Google Lens icon at the bottom. It will take a few seconds to process the image and display the relevant information.

Scanning QR codes with Google Photos is really easy and you don’t need to worry about ads. However, using this app has its drawbacks. For example, it won’t let you access any of the app’s features until you’re signed in, and it can only scan photos from the Camera Roll. This may sound frustrating, but don’t worry, the following method will allow you to scan a QR code anywhere on your iPhone.

3. Siri Shortcuts

This method takes advantage of Siri Shortcuts and allows you to scan QR codes from images. It even works in a web browser, which means that if you find a QR code on the Internet, you can still scan it directly. Start by installing a shortcut from this link.

After installing the shortcut, open the Shortcuts app, press and hold the shortcut to open the context menu. Select “Details”.

Right now, this shortcut will only appear in the image sharing sheet. We’ll expand it to everything so that it appears in apps like Safari, Files, and more. Select Share Sheet Types and click Select All.

Go back and click Finish. That’s all you need to do, you can now scan the QR code image from anywhere on your iPhone.

For demonstration, I opened a QR code in Safari. A long press on the image opens the context menu. Clicking the Share button opens the shared sheet, select QR Reader from Images to start scanning.

It even works with other apps like WhatsApp, Photos, Files, etc. I received a QR code from a friend and this is what was in it. Enjoy.

These were some of the quickest methods to scan a QR code from an image. While I don’t mind finding solutions to these innocuous problems, iOS should adapt this feature as they did with scanning a QR code using the Camera app. Despite the fact that Safari automatically detects the QR code, it does not show any information. Well, maybe in the future. What do you think? Are you using a second phone to scan the QR code on your iPhone like a caveman? Let me know in the comments below.

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