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QR code won't scan

There are two completely different reasons a scan can fail at the door, and they need different fixes. This page covers the first one: the camera never reads the code at all. If the camera reads the code fine but the ticket is then rejected (Invalid, Already Used, Refunded, Problem), that's not a scanning problem — see Ticket result states instead.

Step 1: Is the camera running at all?​

The check-in app needs camera access to work. When you tap Enable Camera to Scan, your browser asks for permission.

  • Camera access blocked — your browser shows a locked-out camera message. Open your browser's site settings for this page and allow the camera, then tap Try Again.
  • "Couldn't start the camera" — usually means another app or browser tab is already using the camera. Close other camera apps (video calls, other browser tabs with a camera open) and try again.
  • No prompt appears at all — the page may not be loading over a secure connection, or the device genuinely has no camera available to the browser. Try a different device.
tip

The check-in app always uses the rear camera automatically — there's no camera picker to get confused by. If you see a front-camera selfie view, close the tab and reopen the check-in link.

Step 2: The camera is running, but it won't read the code​

If you can see the live camera view but the code just won't scan, this is almost always an image quality problem, not a software problem:

  • Screen glare or reflection — a phone screen showing the ticket often reflects light. Tilt the phone slightly, or ask the attendee to dim their screen brightness down if it's too bright to photograph.
  • Screen brightness too low — the opposite problem: a dim phone screen in bright daylight can be hard for the scanner to read. Ask the attendee to turn their screen brightness up.
  • Too close or too far — hold the scanning phone roughly 15–25cm from the code. Too close and the code doesn't fit in frame; too far and it's too small to resolve.
  • Blurry or damaged printed ticket — a low-quality print, a crease across the code, or a photo of a photo can all break the pattern the scanner needs to read.
  • Paper ticket at an angle — try to keep the code roughly flat and facing the camera, not tilted or curled.

None of these mean the ticket is invalid — they mean the scanner physically can't read the pattern yet. Once it reads successfully, the result (Admitted, Already Used, etc.) is a completely separate question, answered on Ticket result states.

Step 3: It scanned, but says Invalid​

If the camera clearly read something and the screen shows Invalid, the code was read successfully — the problem is with what it decoded to, not the camera. See the Invalid section of Ticket result states for what that actually means (wrong event, not a TimbaTicket code, or a corrupted code).

Still stuck?​

If the camera won't start on more than one device, or a code that should clearly be readable keeps failing after trying the steps above, escalate to the event's Owner or Manager rather than turning guests away — they can look up the attendee manually from the guest list while the issue is resolved.

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