Mobile bar-code scanning

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 1 minute to read

    • Use the camera on your mobile device to scan bar-codes into your instance using mobile applications.

    Multi-scan bar-code scanning

    To scan barcodes as accurately as possible, make sure that you:
    • Scan in a well-lit environment. Both Android and iOS mobile devices have flashlight apps that you can use to make sure your device's camera has adequate light to scan barcodes accurately.
    • Keep the device camera in a steady position while scanning. If the camera is shaking, barcode scans will become blurred and inaccurate.

    Use multi-scan to scan multiple bar-codes sequentially without leaving the scanning interface. Input information for your assets faster than manual entry or individual scans. After scanning in multiple bar-codes, users can review a list of their scanned items.

    		 Multi-scan interface

    Grouped bar-code scanning

    Use grouped bar-code scanning to scan multiple bar-codes and group them into a set. For example, a single item that has an asset number, serial number, and model number. You can configure a button to use grouped inputs to accept multiple bar-code scans.

    		 Group scan interface

    Supported barcode types

    The ServiceNow mobile apps for iOS and Android support scanning the following barcode types:
    Note:
    Code-128 and Code-39 barcode scanning are not consistent on Android devices due to a known open issue with Android libraries. Incorrect scanned values might be intermittently returned. For more accurate barcode scanning, see Enable enhanced barcode scanning.
    • 1D barcodes: EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code-39, Code-93, Code-128, ITF, Codabar (Android only)
    • 2D barcodes: QR Code, Data Matrix, PDF-417, AZTEC

    Zebra scanning devices

    The Android version of ServiceNow mobile apps can be used with most Zebra scanning devices. The scanner only works when permissions for the Zebra device camera has been denied for the ServiceNow mobile app. If you have already granted permissions to the Zebra device camera, you can turn them off in the settings for the Zebra device. In the ServiceNow app, when the cursor is in a QR/Barcode input field, the scanner outputs the results. Users can modify the barcode output to include a return/enter string at the end of each scan with other apps, such as DataWedge.