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Comment by 3PS | Hacker News Reader

> First of, on Android, the camera doesn't magically scan the QR code.

Out of curiosity, what phones do you and your family use? Because my Android phone (a Pixel 4a) has never had any issues scanning QR codes by just pointing the camera at them.

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Some OEM camera apps have built-in QR code detection (using Google Lens or something else) but not all do.

Starting in Android 13, a QR code scanner is accessible from Quick Settings on all GMS devices. This QR code scanner is built into Google Play Services though so it's not available on AOSP builds.

Right. I use F-Droid and have Google stuff turned off. I do have an app, Binary Eye, that can scan QR codes, UPC codes, Code 39, etc. But it doesn't have permission to launch a browser. I have to paste the code into Fennec. I need to do this maybe twice a year.

I've never seen QR codes in restaurants in Silicon Valley.

It's vendor specific. Some have camera apps that do have scanners integrated, some don't.

Older Androids definitely needed an app but I’m talking like the Google G1 and G2 etc..

My pixel3 doesn't do this

I have a (normal) pixel 3 and it does do it, but the UI is terrible and sometimes doesn't engage. And when it does the link shows up in what I found to be an awkward place.

I'm about 90% sure this used to work better on an older version of android.

The most awkward thing is that the link is like a tooltip: it fades away very quickly, so you often have to rescan the QR code.

My Pixel 3A does, interesting to see the difference

My Pixel 3a also scans QR codes.

Have you updated your camera app? When I point mine at a QR code of a URL a little bubble appears below it, which you can click on.

I've certainly never tried to stop it from updating. It's on version 8.4.600.440402475.27. When I point mine at a QR code absolutely nothing at all happens

I don't know if this is the same experience for you, but for a while I would just open the camera app without realizing I had to swipe over to Google Lens mode to have it detect QR codes.

Anecdotally, between a Pixel 4a, Pixel 7 pro, OnePlus 6 and 7 Pro, none of them ever successfully scanned QR codes in photos. All required a separate app to correctly recognize QR codes.

Weird - I was using a Pixel 1 until recently and the camera app dealt with QR codes just fine.

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