Most of us have important papers and photos we need to scan into our mobile devices. Is such a tedious chore doable without traditional scanners? Yes!
In this article, we’ll tell you how to scan on iPhones using built-in and third-party apps.

What This Guide Covers:

• The iOS Notes App
• Adobe Scan
• Microsoft Office Lens
• Scanner Pro by Readdle
• Genius Scan
• FAQs
• Conclusion

The iOS Notes App

If you’re wondering how to scan documents on your iPhone, iOS has you covered. The Notes app is a hidden gem most people don’t know about.

Here’s how to scan documents on iPhone:

Step 1: Open the Notes app.

Source

Step 2: The pen-on-paper icon creates a new note in the bottom right corner. Tap it.

You can also begin working on an existing note.

Step 3: In your new note, tap the Camera icon above the keyboard to the right.

Use the Camera option to begin scanning. Source

Step 4: Choose Scan Documents from the drop-down menu.

From the drop-down menu, choose Scan Documents. Source

Step 5: Place your document on a flat, well-lit surface and position it in view of the camera. Use the Shutter button to capture it.

Position your camera over your document and click the shutter. Source

Step 6: After capturing your document, use the menu item at the bottom of the screen to make any necessary alterations, such as cropping, filtering or rotating. After you’ve completed your adjustments, tap the Done button.

Step 7: If you have several pages to scan, touch the + button to capture more pages.
Step 8: Once you’re satisfied with the result, tap Save.

Click Save to store the document in your device. Source

Adobe Scan

Of the third-party methods that support scanning on an iPhone, Adobe Scan ranks first. You can do a lot with it: automatic image capture, cropping and color correction. Adobe Scan also has OCR capabilities.

Here’s how to scan documents on an iPhone using Adobe:

Step 1: Download Adobe Scan from the Apple App Store. After installation, open the app and sign in or create a free Adobe account.
Step 2: Tap the camera icon and select the document type to start scanning.

Choose between the options on the app. Source

Step 3: Position your document along the camera margins.
Step 4: Next, choose how you’d like to scan the document on your iPhone: Auto Capture or Manual.
Step 5: Click on Retake if you’d like to redo, or tap Continue to capture more documents.

Click on Retake to redo. Source

Step 6: You can reorder the pages, crop or extract texts through OCR. Click on Save PDF to store it on your device.

Click on Save PDF after capturing your document. Source

Microsoft Office Lens

Office Lens is another great tool for learning how to scan on an iPhone. Beyond documents, you can scan whiteboards, business cards or photos.

Here’s how to scan a document:

Step 1: Open Microsoft Office Lens and choose the capture mode as Document.

Document mode works well for small text written or typed in a note. It’s also useful for making fliers, menus and posters.

Choose Document mode to begin. Source

Step 2: To take a photo with your iPhone, point the camera at the document and ensure the object’s orange outline is visible.

Your camera’s flash will activate automatically, but you can override it by tapping the Flash icon in the capture window’s upper right corner.

Tap the round Camera button in the bottom-center of your screen when you’re ready.

Point the camera at the document and ensure the object’s orange outline is visible. Source

Step 3: You can import an existing picture from any Photo Album on your phone.

In the lower-left corner of the capture window on the Microsoft Lens capture screen, hit the Picture button. Navigate to the photo album that contains the image you wish to use, press it, and Microsoft Lens will import it.

Step 4: You can adjust the borders of an image after you capture it.

Adjust image borders before saving the document. Source

Step 5: Click on Done in the lower right corner to save it.

Tap on Done to save. Source

Scanner Pro by Readdle

Scanner Pro is a document scanner app that helps you digitize your papers quickly without running them by flatbed scanners. Here’s how to scan documents on an iPhone using the app:

Step 1: Download the Scanner Pro app and launch it.
Step 2: At the bottom right corner, the orange ‘+’ will get you started.

The plus icon will get you started. Source

Step 3: Position the camera over the document and choose a filter between Color, Black and White, Photo, or Grayscale

Choose the filter you’d like to apply. Source

Step 4: The Auto Capture mode detects the document margins and takes the photo. You can choose Manual mode to do it yourself.

Step 5: After scanning the pages, click Edit to crop, change filters or make other adjustments. Tap Done to save the document.

Genius Scan

Genius Scan lets users automatically detect edges while scanning papers, receipts and whiteboards.

Genius Scan also offers a wide range of options for exporting your scans. The system Share Sheet and Files are always available, but there are also customized interfaces for email, FTP, WebDAV, and an extensive range of other cloud services.

When you create an export, you can specify the type (PDF or text), resolution and if you need a password to access the scan.

Let’s quickly learn how to scan on an iPhone using this app.

Step 1: Open the Camera in the app.
Step 2: Choose between Single or Batch modes depending on how many pages you’d like to scan.

Choose between single and multi page scanning options. Source

Step 3: Look at the preview; if you’re happy with it, tap the tick mark icon, or choose the Quick Edit Actions menu to retake.

As you capture images, you’ll find the page count on the shutter button. That’s how you can keep track of the total number of pages you scan.

Step 4: Click on Done to save the document.

Save your document by clicking on Done. Source

FAQs

Conclusion

Knowing how to scan on an iPhone helps you digitize and store paper documents on your device. With the right scanning app, you can easily create high-quality PDFs to share and store in the cloud.

Do you have more questions? Let us know in the comments!