By now, we all know how to scan a QR code. Open the Camera app and point your iPhone at the code, the camera will scan it and give you a suggestion to open the associated action. But how do you scan a QR code if it is on your iPhone?
For example, you can manually save a QR code in your photo library, receive the block code via WhatsApp or visit a website that contains a QR code. On iOS and iPadOS, you can scan QR codes not only via the Camera app, but also if they are in your photo library.
Save QR codes to Photos
Have you received a QR code via WhatsApp or seen it on a website? In most cases, you can’t use it right away. If you want to scan it from your iPhone or iPad, you first have to save it to your photo library. For example, open the code in WhatsApp and tap the share button to save it. Do you see the code on a website? Then place your finger on the code and choose ‘Add to Photos’.
Activate live text
Before you can scan the QR code in photos, you’ll first need to enable live text on your iPhone or iPad. You can do this by going to Settings â–¸ General â–¸ Language & Region â–¸ Enable Live Text. This feature allows iOS and iPadOS to recognize and use text and QR codes in photos.
Scan QR code from photos
Once you have saved the code to your photo library and live text is enabled, you can easily scan the QR code from photos. Open the QR code in photos and place your finger on the code.
Wait a few moments until the pop-up window appears. After that, you will see that your iPhone or iPad has read the QR code and opened the linked information. Then iOS or iPadOS will give you a suggestion to open the info. For example, is there a website linked? Then you can open it directly from the pop-up window.
In some cases, you can also directly scan a QR code that you see on a website in this way. Place your finger on the QR code and open the linked information via the pop-up menu.