Come iOS 11, you can scan a QR code in the Camera app. This little feature didn’t really make any headlines because it’s kind of hidden. You can’t tell by looking at it but the Camera app can now read the information saved to a QR code. If the information is something like a link or a phone number, the app will offer to open it in Safari or call it. By default, this option is on. It works in the Photo and Square capture modes of the Camera app. The Photo mode, as you can guess, is the one people use the most. If you point your camera at a QR code, it will automatically scan it without your intervention. If you find this behavior annoying, or the feature useless, you can disable the QR code scanner in the Camera app.
Disable The QR Code Scanner
Open the Settings app and scroll down to the Camera app’s preference and tap it. On the Camera screen, turn the ‘Scan QR codes’ switch off.
The next time you point your camera at a QR code, the app will not scan it.
Connecting To WiFi Networks
The QR code scanner is an odd, out-of-place feature for iOS. iOS has never really suffered from a lack of it and there are quite a few apps that have filled this gap. Noteworthy among them is the Chrome browser. You can use Spotlight search or 3D touch to scan a QR code with Chrome.
This new feature in the Camera app is built to prop up something more important; connecting to WiFi networks. Before iOS 11, if you scanned a QR code that pointed to the name and password of a local WiFi network, iOS would not offer to connect to it. The information was simply read as text. You could probably copy and paste the password in the WiFi password field in the Settings app but that’s about it. In stark contrast, Android offers to connect to a network if a scanned QR code contains the name and password to a WiFi network.
With iOS 11, Apple is opening up a bit with regards to network connectivity. It will soon allow users to share their WiFi password with fellow iPhone or iPad users. This will be done over Bluetooth. Apple still doesn’t allow you to view your WiFi password as a security measure. The only way around it, do date, is to jailbreak your device.
