Location QR Code Generator
This encodes a geo link: latitude and longitude, in that order, as a proper standard rather than a map company’s URL. Apple documents Camera recognising these and opening Maps with a pin, and Android documents the same handling. It answers "where exactly?" once, for a gate, a trailhead, a stand or a site entrance that no address describes.
Map coordinates. Answers "where exactly are you?" once, for good.
In Google Maps, press and hold the spot — the coordinates appear in the search bar, ready to copy.
Appearance — all of it free
Caption
Print sizing
Both matter. Distance decides how big the code has to look; the printer decides how small a module it can hold. Whichever asks for more is the size to print.
Your code
Fill in the fields above and the code appears here.
What is actually inside this code
Two numbers and a comma. The order is the thing to get right, and the sign on the longitude.
- Latitude
- 40.7484
- Longitude
- -73.9857
encodes as
geo:40.7484,-73.9857
20 bytes — a version 2 symbol, 25 modules a side. The phone offers to open Maps with a pin on that point.
Latitude first, and it is a real standard
The format is `geo:` followed by latitude, a comma, and longitude, using WGS 84 — the coordinate system your phone already works in. It is defined by RFC 5870, which is worth knowing mostly because it means this is not a proprietary link that depends on any one map company staying in business.
Latitude comes first. Reverse the two and you get a valid code pointing somewhere else entirely, usually in an ocean, and there is nothing about the symbol that would tell you. Check the sign on the longitude too — dropping the minus moves you to the other side of the planet.
Where to get the numbers
In Google Maps, press and hold on the spot. The coordinates appear at the top, ready to copy. Do it at the actual point you mean — the gate rather than the building, the entrance rather than the postcode — because being able to be precise is the entire reason to use coordinates instead of an address.
The Android-only forms, and when to use a map link instead
You will see `geo:0,0?q=coffee` and `geo:37.33,-122.03?z=15` in older guides. Those are Android platform extensions, not part of the standard, and they are not portable — an iPhone has no obligation to do anything sensible with a query or a zoom parameter. This tool writes the plain coordinate form only.
When a coordinate genuinely is not enough — because you need a named listing, opening hours, reviews, or directions to a business rather than a point — the answer is not to bend the geo format. It is to encode an ordinary web link to the map page instead, using the Link tab.
Do
- Copy coordinates from the map rather than typing them from memory.
- Put the pin on the gate, the door or the stand, not on the building centre.
- Use the Link tab with a proper map URL when you need a named place.
Don't
- Swap latitude and longitude. It produces a perfectly valid wrong answer.
- Use the ?q= or ?z= forms and expect them to work on an iPhone.
- Reconstruct a map URL from memory — copy the share link the app gives you.
One more thing about coordinates specifically: they are exact and they are permanent, and the world around them is not. If the meeting point, the entrance or the pickup spot moves, the code keeps pointing at the old one perfectly accurately. That is a printing problem rather than a technical one, but it is the one that actually happens.
Frequently asked questions
Do geo QR codes work on iPhone?
Yes. Apple’s developer guidance on QR codes states that Camera recognises a geo payload and that tapping the notification opens Maps with a pin on the location. Android documents equivalent handling. The belief that iPhones ignore these is common and, for the plain coordinate form, wrong.
Which number comes first?
Latitude, then longitude, separated by a comma. Getting it backwards produces a completely valid code pointing at a completely different place, and the symbol gives you no hint. Check the order and the minus signs in the encoded string before printing — that is the only place either mistake is visible.
Can I add a place name or a zoom level?
Not portably. The forms with ?q= for a search term and ?z= for zoom are Android platform extensions rather than part of the standard, so an iPhone is under no obligation to honour them. If you need a named place rather than a point, encode a normal map link on the Link tab instead.
When is a location code better than an address?
When the address does not describe the place. A field gate, a trailhead, a market stall, a site entrance on a long perimeter, a delivery bay round the back — all of these have an address that gets people close and then leaves them looking. A coordinate puts the pin exactly where you stood when you copied it.
Other things a QR code can do
Every type, one tool
QR Code Generator
Colours, shapes, a logo, a caption, a print-size check and an A4 sheet — all of it free, none of it behind an account, and the code stays yours because the data is inside it rather than on our server.
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