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How to Scan Documents With Your Android or iOS Phone

Use Notes in iOS or Google Drive on Android

By Renée Lynn Midrack Renée Lynn Midrack Writer Metropolitan State University of Denver Renée Midrack is a former writer for Lifewire, where she wrote on emerging technology and smart devices. Midrack has been writing about technology for 15+ years. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 13, 2022 Reviewed by Christine Baker Reviewed by Christine Baker Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section Scan on iOS Scan on Android How to Use Adobe Scan Optical Character Recognition Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

iOS: Open Notes and create a new note. Open Camera and tap Scan Documents. Position the camera over a document to automatically scan.Android: Tap Google Drive > plus sign (+) > Create New > Scan. Position the camera over the document, tap shutter, tap check mark.Use Adobe Scan: Tap screen > Continue. Tap the document’s thumbnail to edit and save. Updated features in iOS and Google Drive allow you to scan documents for free with your phone or tablet. A program or app performs the scan using your camera and, in many cases, converts it into a PDF automatically. This guide shows you how to do it, whether you own an Apple device with iOS 13 or higher or an Android device with Android 11 or higher.

How to Scan Documents With iOS

The release of iOS 11 added a scanning feature to Notes. Here's how to use it: How to Scan Documents on an iPhone Using Your Mac Open the Notes app and create a new note. Tap the Camera icon and select Scan Documents. Position the phone camera over the document. Notes automatically focuses and captures an image, but you also can do it manually by tapping the shutter button. After you scan a page, drag the handles to crop the scan. Tap Keep Scan to continue. To scan the document again, select Retake. Repeat this process for all the pages you want to scan. When you're finished, select Save. Learn more about scanning with the Notes app in iOS

How to Scan Documents With Android

You need Google Drive installed to scan documents with Android. The app generally comes pre-installed on Android devices; if not, download it from the Google Play store. To scan: Open Google Drive and tap the + symbol. Under the Create New tab, select Scan. Position the phone camera over the document and tap the Shutter button when you're ready to capture the image. Tap the check mark to keep the scan or the back arrow to retake it. Tap the + symbol to scan more images, or Save to finish and upload your document to Google Drive. There are also options to crop, scan, or rotate the scan, or adjust its color. When you finish scanning your documents, enter a file name for your new PDF and choose a folder to save it in. Then, select Save.

How to Scan Documents With Adobe Scan

Available scanner apps include Tiny Scanner, Genius Scan, TurboScan, Microsoft Office Lens, CamScanner, and more, but Adobe Scan has all the basics covered in its free version. It's easy to navigate and use without much of a learning curve. If you haven't registered for a free Adobe ID, you need to set one up to use this app. Adobe Scan offers a paid in-app subscription to access additional features and options. However, the free version includes enough features to cover the needs of most users. Here's how to scan documents with Adobe Scan: Open the app and log in with a Google, Facebook, or Adobe ID. Tap the screen or the shutter button when you're ready to scan the document. The app finds the borders and takes a picture for you. Drag the handles to adjust the borders if necessary, then tap Continue. The app automatically takes more scans if necessary. If you don't want to do that, tap the scan's thumbnail to display the editing and saving options. Here, you can rotate it, crop it, change the color, and more. When you're ready, tap Save PDF in the upper-right corner of the screen to save it. After you select Save to PDF, tapping the More icon displays options for the new file. You can choose to save it to Google Drive, copy it to your device, print it, delete it, and more.

What Optical Character Recognition Is

Optical character recognition (OCR), sometimes called text recognition, is a process that makes text within a PDF recognizable, searchable, and readable by other types of programs or apps. Many scanner apps, such as Adobe Scan, apply it to PDFs automatically, or you can select this option in the preferences. As of the iOS 11 release, the scanning feature in Notes for iPhone doesn't apply OCR to scanned documents, nor does Google Drive. How to Scan a QR Code on Samsung FAQ How do I scan QR codes on my iPhone or Android? To scan QR codes with your phone, open the Camera app, point it at the QR code, and tap the pop-up notification. On some devices, you'll need to download a third-party QR code reader app. How do I scan documents with my iPad? To scan documents with an iPad, download an app like Scanner Pro, SwiftScan, DocScan, or Genius Scan.
How do I scan photos on my iPhone or Android? To scan color photos on your phone, use a photo scanner app like Google PhotoScan, Photomyne, or Microsoft Lens. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Scan Documents With Your iPad How to Scan a Document in Windows How to Scan to a Word Document Converting Paper Documents to PDF Files The 9 Best Free PDF Editors (October 2022) How to Choose a Photo Scanner How to Scan on Chromebook How to Print to PDF What Is a PDF File? (And How to Open One) How to Convert Excel Documents to the PDF Format How to Scan a QR Code on iPhone or Android The 4 Best Photo Editor Apps of 2022 10 Best PDF Splitter Tools & Methods The 7 Best Screen Capture Software of 2022 How to Scan in Notes on iPhone or iPad (iOS) How to Scan Documents on an iPhone Using Your Mac Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies