More than ever before QR code (or Quick Response code), has become very popular and is used virtually everywhere. And typically a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner.
There are a very huge number of Qr code scanners available on the Google play store, however, most are bugged with ads and some have dubious privacy issues. The good news is you don’t need these apps as most Android phones now have the capability to scan QR codes. So how do you scan a QR code with your Android phone?
How to scan QR code with your Android Phone
Here are the best methods to scan a QR code on your Android phone without installing other third-party apps.
Scan QR code with your Android Camera
Android phones running Android 9 (pie) offers a feature that lets you scan a QR code with the phone’s built-in camera with the integration of Google lens. To do this:
- Tap to open your Phone’s camera
- Point the camera to the QR code and wait to bring it to focus
- Do not take the picture but wait until the camera decipher the QR code
- Click the link translated from the QR code when it pops up
If nothing happens, check your phone’s camera settings to ensure you turn on Google lens. Other phones like Samsung have their own technology for scanning QR codes, in the camera setting ensure the scan QR code option is enabled.
Scan QR code on your Android with Google Assistant
If the option stated above does not work for you or you use an older phone, a very quick and easy way to scan QR codes is with Google Assistant.
There are many cool things you can do on your Android Phone using Google Assistant. Read Here
To use this method,
- Long-press the home button or say “Hey Google” to open Google Assistant.
- Tap the lens icon or say “open lens”
- wait for the camera to open
- point the camera to the QR code and wait to bring it to focus
- Wait for the camera to decipher the code and click the link to open the content of the QR code
A quicker way may be to just install the Google lens app from the play store
Scan QR code on your Android Phone with Browser
Most QR codes contain URL links, so instead of opening the camera to scan the code and then opening a browser to open the link, some android browsers like Firefox allows you to scan QR codes.
In firefox Android, you can scan QR codes by simply tapping on the address bar and pressing the QR icon to scan the QR code
This is a great tutorial! I’ve been wanting to learn how to scan QR codes and this is a great way to do it.