Barcode scanner is not available now popup on trying to add account

[swapnilpatne]

Device: Nexus 4
Android Version: 5.1.1
Build number: LMY48T

Steps to reproduce:
Installed Google Authenticator from Play Store
Launched the app
Clicked on "BEGIN"
Below "Add an account" clicked on "Scan a barcode" and got the message popup saying "Barcode scanner is not available now" with "OK" to click.
Tried installing few barcode scanners app from Play Store and then trying to add account, result is same. See attached screenshot.
Please suggest if there is any workaround for this issue.

[ThomasHabets]

Did you try this one? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxing.client.android

[swapnilpatne]

I already searched through old issues and one of the issue mentioned about trying this app. So yes I tried with it, didn't work.

[capi]

For the open-source version, for which this repository is, it works with the ZXing client application. Just tested current master.

The one from Play-Store seems to be hosting it's own version of the library internally, because it asks for access to camera. Is it possible that you denied this permission?

[hwong557]

I have the same problem as above. Google Authenticator does have permissions to take pictures and videos. I have installed the barcode scanner separately as suggested by ThomasHabets. I am recieving the same error as above.

Device: Samsung S3 Mini
Android Version 4.4.2

[brunano21]

I'm having the same problem with OnePlus 3T, android version 6.0.1. I don't know how to fix :-/

[ThomasHabets]

Did you try the app @capi suggested?

Oh, you're probably not using opensource, so that probably won't help.

[hwong557]

I have instead the suggested app. I guess I am not using the opensource version. I installed the app from the play store.

[brunano21]

Me too. I have installed the Play Store version.

[m1lk1way]

meizu m5 global firmware. The same thing. Cant scan due to barcode scanner unavailability.

[smifun]

I have the same problem on Moto G Android 5.1. I installed Google Play version. I gave camera permissions to ZXing bar scanner, I also tried to reinstall it.

[oguennec]

Same issue with:
model Nexus 5
Android 6.0.1
Authenticator: 4.74

I have re-enabled the Camera permission for Authenticator as it was turned off (maybe by the new version of Authenticator ?) but without any success.

[m1lk1way]

hey, when it would be fixed???

[ThomasHabets]

¯\(ツ)/¯

This repo is only about the open source version, not the <brand> Store versions.

Pasting standard boilerplate:

FYI: The version in Google Play Store / Apple App store is not the same as this opensource version. They've diverged. This opensource version is also unlikely to end up in the app stores. This open source version doesn't get much love, but I'll accept well-written pull requests. But don't expect this feature to be implemented by Google.

[Audioappalled]

I solved this problem by having Google authenticator installed, then installing QR & Barcode scanner (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamma.scan). When I set up a new account for my Google authenticator I scanned the code with the QR scanner which gives me a link that opens up the Google authenticator with the confirmation code. I hope that helps for some people.

[brunano21]

I have moved to Authy instead - It's better in everything.

[Omoruyiik]

@Audioappalled thanks it really worked flawlessly

[irnc]

For me, com.gamma.scan suggested by @Audioappalled doesn't solve issue with Authenticator.

To workaround that issue in Authenticator app (installed from Play Store), user could scan a barcode in any QR scanner app, click on open in browser and because otpauth:// schema is handled by Authenticator, it would catch it and prompt to add that account.

[GlenSearle]

I got it to "work".
I scanned the QR code with the Yxing barcode scanner.
After the barcode was read, I clicked "open Browser".
My phone directed this string to the Google authenticator which asked me if I wanted to add it.
I did want to add it, so I said yes.
It worked and I can now authenticate successfully.

[zahna]

FreeOTP is also a great lightweight, open source alternative to Google Authenticator. It's run by RedHat and doesn't have this problem. I had to switch to it after running into this bug with GA.

[pragmat1c]

@GlenSearle I did something similar. Once the bar code app has taken a picture, it seems to work in Authenticator.

[vruivo]

For me it was enough to just open the barcode scanner app (in my case the one that comes with Xiaomi/MIUI) exit and return to Google Authenticator.
Seems that the barcode scanner app needs to be running in the background...

[fatemehajikarami]

@Audioappalled Thanks, it worked :)

[dabih]

have the same issue for honor 8 pro.
Fix that with reinstall google play services.

[omarmoss]

Same problem on Huawei P20. New problem since the latest EMUI OS update 2 days ago (8.1.0).
As reported, using (a) 'QR Code Reader' to send the code to G Authenticator seems to work fine.

[schluk5]

Same here, using a P20 pro. What is your solution other than sending the code from the reader to the authentificator?

[joshdiakun]

Mate10 Pro, same issue happening all of a sudden this morning. Was working fine when first setting up the phone yesterday. Build Number: BLA-A09 8.0.0.109(C567)

[farynaio]

+1 this issue is still relative. I just tried to use it first time and it failed as described.

[Abulhallaj]

Same issue on Samsung Galaxy S9+

[Armatorix]

@irnc is right, authenticator works nice to me with this approach.

[MikeMitterer]

Fails with Honor 10 and EMUI 8.1.0

[pi0]

And same problem with P20Lite. I think it is better to rename the thread: "Barcode scanner problems with Huawei" :D

[deejayxd07]

Update: After the latest update, It's working on the y7 prime now.

[pi0]

@deejayxd07 Would you please tell your Authenticator version from settings/about? Mine is 5.00

[pi0]

Here is the logcat:

08-31 14:13:01.828  7006  7006 I Google Authenticator: AuthenticatorActivity: onNewIntent
08-31 14:13:01.829  7006  7006 W DynamiteModule: Local module descriptor class for com.google.android.gms.vision.dynamite not found.
08-31 14:13:01.835  7006  7006 I DynamiteModule: Considering local module com.google.android.gms.vision.dynamite:0 and remote module com.google.android.gms.vision.dynamite:1800
08-31 14:13:01.835  7006  7006 I DynamiteModule: Selected remote version of com.google.android.gms.vision.dynamite, version >= 1800
08-31 14:13:01.840  7006  7006 I Vision  : Loading library libbarhopper.so
08-31 14:13:01.841  7006  7006 I Vision  : libbarhopper.so library load status: false
08-31 14:13:01.843  7006  7030 D OpenGLRenderer:   HWUI Binary is  enabled
08-31 14:13:01.857  7006  7006 I PressGestureDetector: HiTouch restricted: AboardArea.
08-31 14:13:01.877  7006  7030 D mali_winsys: EGLint new_window_surface(egl_winsys_display *, void *, EGLSurface, EGLConfig, egl_winsys_surface **, egl_color_buffer_format *, EGLBoolean) returns 0x3000
08-31 14:13:01.883  7006  7006 I Google Authenticator: AuthenticatorActivity: onResume
08-31 14:13:01.916  7006  7030 D mali_winsys: EGLint new_window_surface(egl_winsys_display *, void *, EGLSurface, EGLConfig, egl_winsys_surface **, egl_color_buffer_format *, EGLBoolean) returns 0x3000
08-31 14:13:01.920  7006  7030 D OpenGLRenderer:   HWUI Binary is  enabled
08-31 14:13:01.958  7006  7030 W libEGL  : EGLNativeWindowType 0x788a92a010 disconnect failed
08-31 14:13:01.958  7006  7030 D OpenGLRenderer: endAllActiveAnimators on 0x788a649400 (RippleDrawable) with handle 0x788a688b60
08-31 14:13:02.136  7006  7006 D ActivityThread: Remove activity client record, r= ActivityRecord{4e99d98 token=android.os.BinderProxy@501a367 {com.google.android.apps.authenticator2/com.google.android.apps.authenticator.enroll2sv.wizard.AddAccountActivity}} token= android.os.BinderProxy@501a367

[HosseinKurd]

same problem!

[amiri27]

Same is here.. Is this problem limited to some regions?! 😮

[mohsenasm]

same problem!

[nacivida]

I was having this too, allowing notifications from Authenticator fixed it. Go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > Apps > Authenticator, then enable notifications.

[andy-butterworth]

Same issue here. Camera permission and notifications are enabled. Phone is a Samsung S6 and running home-cooked LineageOS 15.1.
Its Google Authenticator version 5.0 - it was released in September 2017 so I am guessing everyone is using this version? Odd thing is this did work until recently when I had to wipe my phone. I had three accounts in authenticator and I had scanned them in previously, although the ROM on my phone has been re-flashed (dirty) several times since. Its is only now that I noticed it when trying to re-add the accounts via the QR code. I am guessing that something has changed in the Camera code that authenticator tries to use and this is now incompatible?
I tried Google Lens and it read the code but it didn't link to the app - it just opened a web page to OTP apps. I managed to workaround it on one of the accounts by typing the account name and code manually but I am guessing not all sites will present the manual code?

And not to rub salt in the wounds the Microsoft equivalent 'Authenticator' app works fine...

[blurstream]

I flashed a custom ROM on my personal device. I noticed it is related to version of Google Play Services as @dabih told. At the time I wrote, the version installed on most devices is 15.0.90, the latest OpenGapps version is 15.1.78 and the version that actually resolves the problem is 15.1.80.
Flashing both 15.0.90 and 15.1.78 versions doesn't fix this issue. The latest avaiable apk package resolves it. I guess it's an issue related to play services version and I hope this fix is going to be published as soon as possible through the play store.

[andy-butterworth]

I did some playing around with this yesterday. I have home-cooked LineageOS 15.1 on my Samsung S6 and S6 Edge (built yesterday morning from the latest sources). I install OpenGApps Super for ARM x64 Android 8.1 and use a config file to stop the installation of some apps & languages. For a while now Android Auto just doesn't work ('Something Went Wrong - Google Play Services doesn't seem to be working right now' error) and Google Authenticator fails to start the camera (Barcode scanner isn't available message).
I noticed about a week ago that the S6 Edge started to work and after some investigation it appeared Google Play Services had updated itself to version 16.0.89. I copied the .apk off the S6 edge and onto the S6 and sideloaded it and then both Android Auto and Google Authenticator started to work.
In the OpenGApps package from 2nd April Google Play Services version 16.0.89 is included. I flashed the package and low and behold Android Auto and Google Authenticator now stopped working...
I thought it was where the .apk was getting installed to (/system/priv-app or /data/app), however after some more testing I realised it was the specific version of Google Play Services that was the problem. In the OpenGApps package for ARM x64 Android 8.1 it is Google Play Services version 16.0.89 (110400-239467275). The one that had automatically installed to the S6 Edge was version 16.0.89 (090400-239467275). The difference between the two is the target API version - the 1st one is API 27 and the 2nd one is API 26. API 27 is Android 8.1+ and API 26 is Android 8.0+.
As a test I then downloaded the nano OpenGApps 8.0 package, extracted the file /Core/gmscore-arm64.tar.lz (after checking what version it was obviously...) and replaced the one in the 8.1 package with it. As it is a pain removing Google Play Services updates I did a full wipe of the S6 Edge in TWRP (system, data, cache & dalvik cache) and reinstalled the ROM and OpenGApps and it works :)

This may not work for everyone, however its a definite fix for my S6 & S6 Edge running home-cooked LineageOS 15.1

[blurstream]

thank you @andy-butterworth! it seems a nice solution to try on other devices.
I can do my part replicating this method on my own device, but I'd like to ask you if you can provide me a manual or some help in order to home-cook a Lineage version for my phone (if you want) and how I can extract the right Google Play Services version straight out of the 8 OpenGapps package.
let me know and thanks again!

[andy-butterworth]

Hi blurstream, there are lots and lots of guides on how to build LineageOS. Google is your friend here. Extracting Google Play Services from the OpenGApps 8.0 package is fairly straight forward. Open the package with WinRAR or equivalent, navigate to the /Core folder and extract the file 'gmscore-arm64.tar.lz'. Either just overwrite the same file in the OpenGApps 8.1 file or simply open the .lz file with WinRAR and extract the .apk. It doesn't seem to be possible to downgrade Google Play Services though so if its a higher version you are trying to update it won't work (I think...).

[blurstream]

alright, just one last thing: where did you discover the api versions of those builds? I can't find them on OpenGApps manifests... thank you!

[andy-butterworth]

In the Version Information file on OpenGApps the left column is Arch. API - com.google.android.gms is Google Play Services and it says 'arm64-27' for the Android 8.1 version and 'arm64-26' for the Android 8.0 version...

[GinoPane]

+1 with a huawei p9 on Android 7.0

[andy-butterworth]

I think using the API 26 Google Play Services with Android 8.1 introduces other issues....
I use Google Fit and since 20th March 2019 it no longer shows any GPS mapping data in the journal, although shows the activity - i.e. running, bike ride etc. Google Maps Timeline however shows it. This seems to correspond with when I made these changes.
This is a bit of a pain.... It seems I can use the API 26 Google Play Services and have Android Auto and Google Authenticator working but no mapping data in Google Fit or vice versa...

[blurstream]

I think using the API 26 Google Play Services with Android 8.1 introduces other issues....
I use Google Fit and since 20th March 2019 it no longer shows any GPS mapping data in the journal, although shows the activity - i.e. running, bike ride etc. Google Maps Timeline however shows it. This seems to correspond with when I made these changes.
This is a bit of a pain.... It seems I can use the API 26 Google Play Services and have Android Auto and Google Authenticator working but no mapping data in Google Fit or vice versa...

hello there, andy. I noticed it is available a new version for gms package (17,1,22 at the time I'm writing this message). I updated to android pie and it works like a charm, but I'm interested about knowing if this issue has been resolved. can you update to this new version and let us know if authenticator, fit and timeline start to work again?

[andy-butterworth]

hello there, andy. I noticed it is available a new version for gms package (17,1,22 at the time I'm writing this message). I updated to android pie and it works like a charm, but I'm interested about knowing if this issue has been resolved. can you update to this new version and let us know if authenticator, fit and timeline start to work again?

I didn't want to break my daily Galaxy S6 and end up wiping and restarting to test the GMS 17.1.22 package. However its now included in the latest OpenGApps (9th May 2019 builds) so flashing and testing and rolling back is easier. I have downloaded and installed this (unmodified) and tested that Android Auto and Google Authenticator now work.
The version shown on the OpenGApps version log says 17.1.22 and lists API arm64-26. I checked the specifics on the app and it is version 17.1.22 (090408-245988633) for arm64-v8a + armeabi-v7a so I expect this to work anyway as its NOT for API arm64-27. I am not sure if there is a specific arm64-27 version as I can't see one available on apk mirror (sorry..).
Google Fit is a bit of an odd one and I don't know whether its just a change in the how the app works. I went for a walk the other day (prior to this GMS update and with the arm64-26 API version installed) and rather than just let the phone automatically track my movements I opened Google Fit and specifically started the activity and then stopped at the end of the walk. When I did this it logged the location data and the map is displayed in the journal. I am fairly sure previously it automatically tracked the location without any manual intervention in Google Fit - although I could be wrong...

[blurstream]

so flashing and testing and rolling back is easier

I think it depends by the phone, for example on my phone, when you update to a newer version you can't rollback to the previous one (you have to wipe everything and start again).

I am not sure if there is a specific arm64-27 version as I can't see one available on apk mirror

I searched this too and it seems apks available for download aren't released at the same time of opengapps equipment.

personally I don't use google fit, because I am in a lazy period of my life, so I can't tell you if it was working before the upgrade to the latest api.

[andy-butterworth]

so flashing and testing and rolling back is easier

Flashing OpenGApps overwrites the files in /system and specifically /system/priv-app/PrebuiltGmsCore.apk or the latest /system/priv-app/PrebuiltGmsCorePix.apk so rolling back is via flashing a previous OpenGAppps build in recovery which will remove the previous one. If its updated via the Play store and installed to /data then yes its almost impossible to remove.

I think Google Fit is working as intended - it is probably a behaviour change hidden somewhere in a release note. It tracks your activity regardless, however if you don't start a workout via the app it doesn't keep the location data in the app. Google Maps tracks the location anyway, however the accuracy recorded in Google Fit is much better when you start a workout.

[blurstream]

how can you find it flashes files into those directories?
I think this is because the consecutive play store installation is written in /data starting by the previous /system files installed, so this makes it impossible to "uninstall".
did it fix with new releases in this period of time for barcode and fit too or nothing has changed?
I noticed upgrading to a newer version of android solved the issue.

[vishnuhd]

+1 for OnePlus 7 :(

[emadgh]

Not working on Hoawei Y9 2019... !

[karlvonbonin]

Same here - still not working on GalaxyS10+ and with installed "BarCode Scanner" App

[surajdubey]

I am not sure if this issue was unique to my device. I enabled developer options on my device and it worked afterwards.

[samthebest]

Worked for me https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/32502574?hl=en

[grebulon]

In my case it was Firefox mobile browser that somehow caused this.
Fixed it by going to Firefox mobile Settings -> Accessibility, and turning off the "QR code reader" setting.

[mahyari]

Congratulation to all Google developers who alive this issue for the four years and cause barcode scanner has been useless until now!
Same others, on Mi Mix 3!
Probably it just work on its developer phone :))