QR Code Reader

About the QR Code Reader

The QR Code Reader decodes a QR code from an image or from your camera and shows what is inside: a link, plain text, a Wi-Fi login, a contact card, an email, a phone number, a text message or a location. Drop in a screenshot, pick a photo, paste an image with Ctrl V, or point your webcam or phone camera at a code.

It is handy when the code is on your own screen, such as a QR code in an email, a PDF or a website that you cannot scan with the phone in your hand. It is also a safe way to look before you leap: you see the full address of a link before opening it, which matters because fake QR codes are a common way to send people to scam sites.

Images and camera frames never leave your device. The tool uses your browser's built-in barcode detector where one exists and the open-source jsQR decoder everywhere else, and it reads both dark-on-light and light-on-dark codes.

How to use it

1. Add an imageDrop a photo or screenshot onto the box, click it to choose a file, or copy an image and press Ctrl V (Cmd V on a Mac).
2. Or use the cameraClick Use the camera and allow access. Hold the code inside the frame; scanning stops as soon as a code is found.
3. Read the resultThe decoded text appears with its type, such as Link, Wi-Fi network or Contact card.
4. Check the detailsFor links you see the website name, for Wi-Fi the network, password and security, for contacts the name, phone and email.
5. Copy or openCopy the text, or open a link in a new tab once you have checked where it goes.

Key features

Examples

What the reader shows

Five test codes, one per line of content:

https://example.com/menu?table=12
WIFI:T:nopass;S:Library;;
BEGIN:VCARD … FN:Jordan Lee … END:VCARD
SMSTO:+14155550123:Table for 4
geo:40.7484,-73.9857

A Wi-Fi password with special characters

Inside a Wi-Fi code, a semicolon, backslash, comma, colon or quote in the password is written with a backslash in front. This code:

WIFI:T:WPA;S:Cafe Guest;P:a\;b\\c\"d;H:true;;

is shown as Network Cafe Guest, Password a;b\c"d, Security WPA. The status line counts the raw text: 45 characters.

When nothing is found

An image without a readable code gives "Nothing found" and the hint "No QR code found in this image. Try a sharper or closer photo." The usual reasons are blur, glare, a code that is very small in the photo, or a code cut off at the edge.

Tips

• Crop the screenshot to the code when it is small or surrounded by other content. A larger, centered code is easier to find.
• For photos, hold the phone parallel to the code and avoid glare from glossy paper or screens.
• Before opening a link, read the domain. A code on a parking meter or a flyer that points to an unfamiliar or misspelled site is a warning sign.
• Use the Copy text button to save Wi-Fi passwords or contact details instead of retyping them.
• To make your own codes, including Wi-Fi codes for guests, use the QR Code Generator.

Common mistakes and limits

• Opening links without lookingScammers stick fake QR codes over real ones on parking meters, menus and posters. Check the address the tool shows before you open it.
• Expecting barcodes to workThis tool reads QR codes only. Product barcodes such as UPC or EAN, and other 2D codes like Data Matrix or PDF417, are not decoded.
• Scanning a tiny code in a huge photoLarge photos are scaled down to 1,600 pixels before reading, so a code that fills only a small corner can lose too much detail. Crop first.
• Blocking the camera by accidentIf you denied camera access once, the browser remembers it. Allow the camera in the site settings next to the address bar and try again.
• Expecting several codes at onceThe reader returns the first code it finds in an image. Crop the image to the code you want.

Frequently asked questions