This article explains a simple and free method to use Android phone as a barcode scanner for Windows PC. This method involves a tool called Barcode2Win which sends barcode data from Android phone to PC.
In this method, you have to install the Barcode2Win application on your Windows PC and it’s Android app on your phone. Then you have to connect both devices either to a same network or via a USB cable. Once set up, you can simply scan barcodes with your phone which then the barcode data to PC. Furthermore, the Barcode2Win application on PC is configurable to copy the barcode to clipboard and can also create a CSV file of all the scanned barcodes data. With that said, let’s dive in the article to set up and use Android phone as a barcode scanner for your PC.
Also read: How To Unlock Windows 10 PC Remotely Using Fingerprint?
Use Android Phone as Barcode Scanner for Windows PC
In order to do this, you have to install the Barcode2Win application on your PC and Android phone. You can download the Windows software from here and Android app from here.
When you run the Barcode2Win application on your PC, it gives you an interface similar to the attached screenshot. At this point, connect your phone with PC via a USB cable or move both devices to the same network. Then, open the Barcode2Win app on your phone and scan the QR code from the Windows application to establish a connection. The Android app shows you live logs where you can confirm the connection.
The Android app has a row of buttons for various operations. The two main buttons you should know about is power-icon and link-icon. The power-icon is to pause/resume barcode recognition and the link-icon implies that the app is linked to Windows application. You can read about the rest of the button on the Barcode2Win website.
Once the connection is established, you can simply use your phone to scan barcodes. As the Android app scans the barcodes, it updates that in the log and send the data to Windows application.
The Windows application lists all the barcode data it gets from the phone in the info panel. You can configure this tool to include the time of scan, barcode type and barcode quantity info in the barcode data. It can also copy barcode to the clipboard and forward that to the keyboard as well. This way, you can easily use the barcode info wherever you need it.
Another handy feature of this tool is that it can save all the scanned barcode data to a CSV file. Furthermore, if you want to scan QR code and DataMatrix, you can enable those features from the Windows application and do that too.
Wrap Up:
Barcode2Win is a useful tool that allows you to use an Android phone as a barcode scanner when you don’t have any actual barcode scanner. This tool can save the output in CSV and forward it to the keyboard which can be linked with other software for further applications. Give this a try and share your thoughts with us in the comments.
