What can you put in a text QR code?
- Instructions: machine settings, care labels, assembly steps.
- Codes and IDs: serial numbers, asset tags, locker codes.
- Messages: a note inside a gift, a treasure-hunt clue, a wedding message.
- Offline info: text works without internet, unlike a link.
How long can the text be?
A QR code can hold about 2,900 characters at most, but long text makes a very dense code that’s hard to scan when printed small. Under 300 characters is ideal. The preview tells you if you go over the limit.
Emoji and other languages
Text is stored as UTF‑8, so emoji, accents and non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and more) work on modern phones.
How a text QR code works
The text is stored directly in the code’s pattern. When someone scans it, the phone shows the text on screen, usually with an option to copy it or search for it. There is no link and no website involved, so the code works with no signal at all and keeps working for as long as the print lasts.
Because there is no web page behind it, you can’t change the text later. If the message might change, use a link to a page you control instead, with the QR code generator.
Making longer text scannable
- Cut every word you can. Each character adds to the pattern.
- Print longer codes bigger, and test them at the size you will print.
- If the code will be printed cleanly and kept indoors, choose a lower error correction level under Advanced. It makes the pattern simpler.
- Test with an older phone as well as your own.
What phones do with text
iPhones and Android phones both show plain text after a scan, but the screen differs. Some show the text straight away; others show a short preview with a button to see all of it. If the text looks like a web address, an email address or a phone number, the phone may offer to open it.