Appointment confirmation
A reminder card with a reply-to-confirm code, so no one has to save the number first.
SMSTO:+447700900456:Confirming my 3pm appointment
SMS QR code generator
This SMS QR code opens a text message with the number already filled in, so the reader only has to type a reply and send it. Add a starting message and it appears in the draft too, ready to edit or send as it is.
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Scan it once from the screen before you print a batch. Keep it 2 cm or larger on paper, and leave the white margin around it.
Do more with it
Same code, more placesSave this design - colors, corners, logo and frame - and put it on any code later. Saved in this browser.
One value per line, or paste a CSV. With two columns the first is the file name and the second is the value. Every code uses the design you set up above.
Lay the code out on an A4 page with cut marks, ready for the printer or a label sheet.
How an SMS QR code fills in a text message
A QR code for text message works like a phone number saved just long enough to send one reply: scan it, and the messaging app opens with the number, and any message you set, already typed in. Nothing sends until the reader taps send.
What the code stores
The payload behind this SMS QR code generator is SMSTO:, followed by the number and the message, separated by a colon. Everything after that second colon is read as the message, so a colon inside your text never cuts it short.
1SMSTO:2+447700900123:3Table for two at 8, see you then!
- SMSTO: tells the phone this is a text message to prepare, not a call or a website.
- Number the recipient, ideally written with its country code so the message reaches the right network.
- Message typed exactly as written, with no encoding needed.
SMSTO: versus other message-opening formats
This generator uses SMSTO: because it is the format most QR readers, including the built-in camera on iPhone and Android, already recognise - it is a practice scanner software settled on, rather than a numbered standard.
| Format | Used by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SMSTO:number:message | This generator | Widely recognised, though a practice rather than a formal standard. |
| sms:number?body=message | Some apps and websites | Documented by phone makers as a URL scheme; the same result. |
| wa.me/number | Opens a chat in WhatsApp instead - see the WhatsApp QR code page. |
Where a code for a text message saves a step
Quick feedback
On a receipt or table card, with a short prompt already typed in the message.
SMSTO:+447700900789:Rate your visit 1-5:
Event RSVP
On a printed invitation, for guests who would rather text a yes than fill in a form.
SMSTO:+447700900321:Count me in for Ember Fest
A text sent this way is a normal SMS, billed to the sender's plan like any other message - the code itself carries no cost.
Sources
Checked September 2026
- ZXing wiki: Barcode Contents - SMS/MMSgithub.comthe sms: URI and the SMSTO:/MMSTO: variants observed in practice
- Apple Developer: iPhone URL Scheme Reference - smsdeveloper.apple.comiOS support for composing a text message from a link
SMSTO: is not governed by a single standards body, so recognition can vary by scanner app; test the printed code on the phones your audience uses.
SMS QR code questions
No. Scanning opens the messaging app with the number and any message already filled in, but the reader still taps send themselves.
Yes for the built-in camera on current phones, which recognises SMSTO: and opens Messages. A few older or third-party scanner apps may not, and will show the raw text instead.
The code opens the draft either way, but sending needs the same SMS signal any text needs - a WiFi-only tablet without a SIM cannot send it.
Yes - the message field takes everything after the number, unencoded, so commas, colons and question marks all come through as typed.
Not this one - it always opens the phone's own SMS app over the mobile network. For a chat inside WhatsApp, which needs an internet connection and the app installed, make a WhatsApp code instead.
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