Whether you’re struggling to keep all your paperwork in one place or you just want a digital backup of your most important documents, there’s an easy way to scan documents on your iPhone via an oft-forgotten feature introduced all the way back in iOS 11.
Embedded within Apple’s ever-useful Notes app is the ability to scan documents on your iPhone with ease, providing a digital representation of your files and documents – no need to download any third-party apps or sign up for any monthly app subscription services – and here’s how to do it.
What you need
- An iPhone running iOS 11 or newer
The Short Version
- Open your Notes app.
- Click on Notes.
- Press New Note.
- Click the Camera button.
- Click Scan Documents.
- Hover your phone over the document.
- Check your image.
- Press Done.
- Tap Save.
Step 1.
Open your Notes app
Unlock your iPhone and open the Notes app to start the process.
Step 2.
Tap on Notes
Tap on your Notes. You need to select the iCloud subsection or the On My iPhone subsection for it to work – it won’t work for Notes under Gmail.
Step 3.
Tap New Note
Tap on the button that starts a new Note. It sits in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and looks like a pencil writing on paper.
Step 4.
Tap the Camera button
Once in a new note, tap on the Camera button. It sits in the navigation menu above the keyboard.
Step 5.
Tap Scan Documents
When you tap the Camera button, a drop-down menu will appear. From the available options, tap the “Scan Documents” button.
Step 6.
Hover your phone over the document
Find the document you want to scan and hover your camera over it. You will want to position it so you can see the whole page, and try to do the scan in a space with natural lighting to avoid obscuring the text. Tap the capture button when ready.
Step 7.
Check your image
Tap on the small image on the lower left-hand side of the screen to check your image and ensure it’s scanned correctly and appears clear.
Step 8.
Tap Done
Once you are happy with the image and the text on the screen, tap the Done button.
Step 9.
Tap Save
Tap the Save button to save your scanned document. It will then appear in the new Note you created at the start of the process.
While you can’t scan multiple documents at once, you can scan documents in quick succession, making it easier to scan a book or a lot of paperwork.
Your iPhone needs to be running iOS 11 or later to support the scan documents feature.