How to scan a QR code from a screenshot
A phone camera can’t scan a code on its own screen. How to read a QR code from a screenshot, a photo or a PDF on iPhone, Android and a computer.
A QR code in an email, a PDF ticket, a web page or a message on your phone creates an odd problem: the phone’s camera can’t point at its own screen. Most people end up photographing one screen with another device. There are easier ways.
On an iPhone
Take a screenshot of the code. Open it in Photos and press and hold on the code or tap the Live Text button; iOS recognises the code and offers to open it. The same works for codes in photos you have taken.
On Android
Take a screenshot and open it with Google Lens, from the Photos app or the Lens button in the Google app. Lens reads the code and shows what it contains.
On a computer
Take a screenshot, then paste it straight into the QR code scanner with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V or drop the image file on it. It reads the code in the browser and shows what it contains: for a link, the full address and the website it actually leads to; for a WiFi code, the network and password; for a contact card, each field. Nothing opens until you choose and the image isn’t uploaded.
Why showing the destination first matters
Phone cameras open a scanned link with one tap and that is exactly what QR phishing relies on. Reading a code from a screenshot, especially one from an unexpected email, with a scanner that names the real destination and flags tricks such as link shorteners and look-alike addresses, lets you check it safely. The warning signs are covered in is this QR code safe.
When it’ll not read
Crop closer so the code fills more of the image, make sure all three corner squares are visible and avoid screenshots taken while zoomed into a blurry page. Codes in PDFs scan better from a screenshot taken at normal size than from a heavily zoomed one.
Text rather than a code
If the image contains text you need, not a code, the same screenshot approach works with text recognition, covered in how to copy text from a screenshot.
Common questions
How do I scan a QR code that is on my phone's screen?
Take a screenshot, then open it in Photos on an iPhone and press and hold the code or open it with Google Lens on Android. Both read codes from saved images.
How do I scan a QR code on my computer?
Take a screenshot of the code, then paste it or drop it into a QR scanner in the browser. The scanner on this site reads it without uploading the image.
Why will the code in my screenshot not scan?
Usually it is too small, cut off at an edge or blurred by zooming. Crop closer so the code fills more of the image and make sure all three corner squares are visible.
Is it safe to scan a code from an email?
Codes in unexpected emails are a common phishing trick. Reading the code from a screenshot with a scanner that shows the destination first lets you check it without opening anything.