SMS draft QR — Troubleshooting

Worked example

Plain text instead of a message app means the reader ignores SMSTO; a wrong recipient usually comes from how the number was typed.

If the scan result is plain text beginning SMSTO:, the reader does not act on that scheme. Try the phone camera app, update the scanner, or print the number as visible text next to the code. SMS payload handling varies by phone and scanner, and nothing in the pattern can force it.

If the recipient looks wrong, check how the number was typed. Hyphens, spaces and a national leading 0 are copied into the payload exactly as entered, and a number without the plus and country code can resolve differently abroad. Retype it as +, country code, then the digits, regenerate and rescan.

If the body is empty or cut off, compare it with the payload from the copy-content button. A message that contains line-style characters or very long text may be shortened by some readers. Rewrite it under about 60 characters. Garbled Korean, Japanese or Chinese letters usually come from an old reader that assumes a different character set, which a newer scanner will not do.

If the buttons stay disabled, read the red line: "Enter a valid phone number" means a letter or symbol outside digits, plus, brackets, dots, hyphens, asterisk and hash, or fewer than three digits. A contrast warning under 4.5:1 also blocks export; fall back to the Classic preset.

Example recipient + short draft

SMS draft action

When a reader ignores the SMSTO scheme, the fix is a different reader or a visible number, not a different pattern.