Phone QR Code Generator
One scan brings up your number in the dialer — the visitor just confirms the call. The simplest of all QR codes, and the one that most often gets the number format wrong; this generator fixes that for you.
Print checklist
- Keep the white margin around the code — it is the quiet zone scanners need, not empty space to crop.
- Size for the scan distance: at least 2 × 2 cm for arm's-length scanning, and roughly one tenth of the farthest scan distance for posters.
- Scan a test print with a real phone before making copies.
The tel: format, done properly
The code carries a tel: link (RFC 3966) with your number in international E.164
form: +, country code, then the number with no leading zero. That is the one form
that dials correctly from any phone in any country. The generator accepts human formatting —
spaces, dashes, parentheses, the 00 prefix — and normalizes it, so
+1 (555) 013-2000 and 001 555 013 2000 produce the same correct code.
Scanning never dials by itself: every phone shows the number and asks for confirmation. A phone code cannot rack up premium-rate calls behind anyone's back — worth knowing both as a printer of codes and as a scanner of them.
Worked example
The formatted input +1 (555) 013-2000 is normalized into:
tel:+15550132000
Short payload, tiny code — version 2 with only 25×25 modules. Phone codes print small and scan effortlessly; they are the most forgiving type.
Where scan-to-call earns its place
- Service stickers: on the boiler, the lift panel, the vending machine — "Fault? Scan to call" removes every barrier between the problem and the report.
- Vehicles and equipment: a "move my car" or "whose forklift is this" contact that does not require reading tiny digits off a dashboard card.
- Posters and shop windows: people rarely memorize numbers off a wall; scanning converts far better than "call us on…" ever did.
- Business cards, as the fast path: alongside a full vCard code — one code to save the contact, one to call right now.
Phone QR code FAQ
Does it work with landlines and extensions?
Landlines, yes — any dialable number in international format works. Extensions are not reliable across handsets, so print "then dial ext. 204" next to the code instead of trying to encode it.
Why does the generator reject my local-format number?
A local number only works dialed from the same country. The code may be scanned by a
tourist, a roaming phone, or someone whose handset formats calls internationally — the
+ form works for all of them, so the generator insists on it.
Handing over more than a number? The vCard contact code saves your whole card to their address book in one scan.