iPhone 12 How to scan a QR code ALREADY in my Photos App?

[HappyDude20]

I know that the camera app can scan for QR codes in real time, which I love…

But I have a photo I took last night of a QR code on a bulletin board at work and am wanting to access the website link it attaches to but don’t know how to do so.

Simply, the photo I have saved in my photos app contains a QR code dead center in the photo but don’t know how to access the link.

 

[usagora]

This might help:

How to Scan a QR Code in a Picture or Photo on Your iPhone's Screen

We'll show you how to scan QR codes that appear on your iPhone's screen for free without needing to print them off or use a second device.

www.makeuseof.com

Honestly, I'm baffled Apple doesn't have a first party solution to this by now.

 

[mcru21]

i'm on ios 16, if you press down on the qr code you should be able to open the link

 

[HappyDude20]

i'm on ios 16, if you press down on the qr code you should be able to open the link

Oh wow thanks! Had no idea!

It works!

 

[iStorm]

Honestly, I'm baffled Apple doesn't have a first party solution to this by now.

They do. Not sure when they added it, but it's there in iOS/iPadOS 15 too. Either press and hold the QR code as already described, or tap the live text icon (in the lower-right corner) and then tap the QR code.

 

[usagora]

i'm on ios 16, if you press down on the qr code you should be able to open the link

They do. Not sure when they added it, but it's there in iOS/iPadOS 15 too. Either press and hold the QR code as already described, or tap the live text icon (in the lower-right corner) and then tap the QR code.

On iOS 16.0 here, but it doesn't work for me 🤷🏼‍♂️ I have a PDF with multiple QR codes, and the only way I could get them to "work" on an iPhone was to add transparent squares over them with hyperlinks using a third party PDF editor (this is a document I distribute for a class). I just exported that page (a version without the hyperlinks) to a jpg and saved to my photos--thinking maybe this only works with images and not documents--but it still does nothing if I tap and hold the QR codes in the image.

 

[iStorm]

On iOS 16.0 here, but it doesn't work for me 🤷🏼‍♂️ I have a PDF with multiple QR codes, and the only way I could get them to "work" on an iPhone was to add transparent squares over them with hyperlinks using a third party PDF editor (this is a document I distribute for a class). I just exported that page (a version without the hyperlinks) to a jpg and saved to my photos--thinking maybe this only works with images and not documents--but it still does nothing if I tap and hold the QR codes in the image.

Right, I don't think it works inside documents...only photos or screenshots. So you are correct to export it to a jpg, but it seems odd that didn't work. Do you have an example you'd be able to share? What if you export to a PNG instead, if you can? (PNGs can be crisper/less artifacts from compression.)

 

[HappyDude20]

I was told by an Apple Store employee that an image with multiple QR codes will many times render them all useless as in the links wont work.

 

[usagora]

Right, I don't think it works inside documents...only photos or screenshots. So you are correct to export it to a jpg, but it seems odd that didn't work. Do you have an example you'd be able to share? What if you export to a PNG instead, if you can? (PNGs can be crisper/less artifacts from compression.)

Can't really share any of these due to privacy, but I just zoomed in close on one, screenshot it, and THAT worked when I tapped and held it in my photos. But this seems very hacky. I wonder why they haven't implemented this feature directly in Safari for both images and documents? I guess it's nice you're able to do it in a pinch using the screenshot method, but it seems like an obvious feature to integrate across apps.

 

[ifxf]

This doesn’t address the problem of sending (e.g. pasting) a QR code fromone app to another. Lets say yor have a covid QR code in your Apple wallet and web site requires it. The only solution I found is to use to devices, one to display the code and the other to allow the web site to scan if via the camera.