Canvas Apps

How to connect an external barcode scanner with Power Apps

by Hardit Bhatia

A woman at a front desk scanning a product with a barcode scanner
A woman at a front desk scanning a product with a barcode scanner

Introduction to barcode scanner

Barcode scanners are very popular especially in warehouse setups where users need to scan barcodes for various different use cases. For example, it could be for logging inventory. There is an internal barcode scanner control within Power Apps but a lot of times users want the ability to use external scanners because of the ease of use. To learn more about the internal scanner control, click here.

Setting up Socket barcode scanner

For one of my projects, I set up a Socket barcode scanner to work with my app. The setup wasn't very straightforward so I decided to share the step-by-step instructions.

But first, here is the scanner I used (Socket D700):

Socket D700 scanner
Socket D700 scanner

The 1st step is to download the Socket Mobile Companion app:

Socket Mobile Companion App
Socket Mobile Companion App

Once the app is downloaded, following the on-screen instructions to connect the scanner to your mobile device via Bluetooth:

Step 1
Adding the reader - step 1

Step 2
Adding the reader - step 2

Step 3
Bluetooth pairing - step 3

Step 4
Successful connection - step 4

Step 5
Testing reader - step 5

Step 6
Testing in the app - step 6

Step 7
App testing failed - step 7

Step 8
Download keyboard suggestion - step 8

Step 9
Setup in app mode - step 9

Step 10
Basic keyboard mode - step 10

Step 11
Repairing the reader - step 11

Step 12
Keyboard mode - step 12

Demo of barcode scanner

Here is a demo:

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