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Apple wallet distorts ticket QR codes

Hi. I have noticed that whenever I add a ticket to Apple wallet, it squashes or distorts the original square QR code (on the ticket) into a short, wide rectangle (in Apple wallet). For this reason, I have avoided using Apple wallet for tickets. I am just wondering whether other people have experienced this, whether the codes will still work in this distorted form and if not, how to fix it. Thanks for any help you can provide.

iPhone X, iOS 14

Posted on Aug 11, 2021 4:10 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 12, 2021 9:05 PM

Correct. Apple has nothing to do with. That's a pdf417 2-dimensional barcode. It can encode a lot (relative to other codes) of data and nearly any scanner can read it (unlike a QR code)

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12 replies

Aug 11, 2021 6:34 PM in response to muguy

Sorry, I'm not talking about the different code formats (barcodes, QR codes, etc). What I mean is that when I receive an email from a ticket vendor, the QR code is square and has the typical "pixelated" pattern on it. However, after importing the ticket to Apple Wallet, the QR code is no longer square; it is rectangular and the pattern looks completely different. The problem is not the format; the problem is that Apple Wallet completely changes what it looks like. Thanks

Aug 11, 2021 6:49 PM in response to Matthew Smerdon

I have never witnessed that behavior and I've used Wallet for tickets, barcodes and QR codes for store rewards cards, parking passes, and airline boarding passes. Are you using any Accessibility settings on your iPhone, such as Zoom? I would check with the vendor sending your the ticket/pass and see if they have experienced any problems in the past.

Aug 12, 2021 7:09 PM in response to muguy

Thanks, everyone, for your answers. I appreciate it.


Sorry to be so pedantic about this, but can anyone explain what is actually happening when I add a ticket to Apple Wallet? Specifically, when I add a ticket, is Apple Wallet converting the QR code into a barcode? I mean the "barcode" in my second shot, above, doesn't really look like any barcode I've ever seen. True, it has bars on each end, but in the middle it looks like a "melted" or "compressed" QR code (at least to me). Isn't a barcode made up only of bars?


Is Apple Wallet [see my second screenshot, above] a) using an actual barcode, b) creating its own code using a proprietary format, c) using an accepted format that is used elsewhere but that I've never seen, d) distorting the QR code but still rendering it in a format that is actually readable, or e) other?


Again, thanks for your help so far. If someone could clarify exactly what this is, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Aug 12, 2021 7:13 PM in response to Matthew Smerdon

No, the pass in Apple wallet is governed by the sponsoring agency. They can choose from any of a number of formats (the image I uploaded earlier) each is equally valid. So your code is not being distorted in any way; it's just using a different kind of bar code to convey the same information. The developer could have equally chosen a QR code to display on the pass but elected not to do so, for any number of reasons.

Aug 12, 2021 8:52 PM in response to muguy

Thanks again. So, just to be clear, the sponsoring agency (in this case, an event booking agency) prefers one format (in this case, QR codes) for the web-based version of the ticket but prefers a completely different format (the "barcode" as you refer to it) once it is in Apple Wallet, and Apple Wallet has nothing to do with it? What is the "industry name" for this type of squished, melty barcode, or does no one distinguish between them?

Apple wallet distorts ticket QR codes

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