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Microsoft Lens can no longer create new scans. Here is the official retirement timeline, how to preserve existing scans, and which iPhone alternative fits each workflow.
Microsoft says Lens was removed from app stores on February 9, 2026 and stopped creating new scans after March 9, 2026. Previous scans remain accessible only while the app stays installed and the user is signed into the last active account.
Source checked August 19, 2026. This page will be reviewed when Microsoft changes its retirement guidance. Microsoft Support: Retirement of Microsoft Lens.
Retirement from iOS and Android began.
Support ended and Microsoft Lens was removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The app stopped creating new scans. Existing scans can still be opened under Microsoft's stated conditions.
Do not uninstall Lens until you have completed this checklist. Microsoft does not promise access after the app is removed from your device.
A safe migration is not just a bulk copy. Build an inventory, preserve the best available files, and test the destination workflow before making one replacement app responsible for every future scan.
List the accounts, folders, notebooks, OneDrive locations, and device-only scans you used with Lens. Note which records need original filenames, dates, page order, or searchable text.
Prefer the complete PDF or original-quality image rather than a screenshot or preview. Open every multi-page file and confirm that no page, signature, receipt total, or annotation is missing.
Folder names, filenames, dates, and surrounding notes can explain what a scan is. If that context will not survive the export, record it in a small index before moving the files.
Move a contract, receipt, handwritten page, multi-page scan, and image-heavy file. Verify visual quality, page order, OCR behavior, and sharing from the new destination before migrating the rest.
Retain the Lens-accessible source and a verified destination copy until the migration is complete. Do not uninstall Lens merely because files appear in a recent-items view.
OneDrive includes a document scanner and is Microsoft's official recommendation. It is the closest fit for a Microsoft-centered workflow, but Microsoft states that its scanner cannot save scans locally on the device. Microsoft Support.
Apple documents scanning in both Notes and Files. Use this route when you want a built-in, no-download option for simple multipage scans and signatures. Apple Support.
ScanLens is an iPhone scanner with on-device OCR, local PDF export, PDF merge and split, signatures, password protection, and optional sync to OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Free exports include a ScanLens watermark; advanced tools and third-party cloud sync are Premium. ScanLens.
The fastest migration is task by task: take what you actually used Lens for and give each job a specific replacement, instead of hoping one app happens to cover everything.
A dedicated scanner replaces this outright. ScanLens captures multi-page documents, straightens each page, and saves a PDF you can keep on the phone, share, or upload — the full workflow is on the PDF scanner page.
ScanLens has a dedicated business-card mode: scan the card and save the recognized details straight to your iPhone contacts, so the follow-up happens from the address book rather than from a photo.
ScanLens runs OCR on the device in 14 languages and lets you copy the recognized text out — the steps are in scan text from a photo.
ScanLens connects to OneDrive and uploads scans there, so a Microsoft-centered filing system keeps working. Set it up once — the walkthrough is in scan to OneDrive.
The sharpest practical difference between the replacements is where the original file lives. Microsoft states that the OneDrive scanner cannot save scans locally on the device — every scan goes to your OneDrive. Apple Notes keeps scans inside the note that holds them, which is workable until a scan needs to be a file. ScanLens keeps its library on the iPhone itself: documents are files you can open offline, export to the Files app, and back up on your terms.
That distinction matters most at tax time, in a dispute, or when the connection is down: a locally stored PDF answers immediately, while a cloud-only scan answers only when the account, the app, and the network all cooperate. Lens users just lived through the sharp end of that trade-off — files inside a retired app are exactly as reachable as the app allows. Keeping your own copies is the lesson worth carrying into the next tool; where those copies should live long-term is covered in storing important documents on iPhone.
Lens users often kept two habits side by side: pages that had to become PDFs, and quick captures that were really just pictures. ScanLens exports both from the same scan — PDF, JPG, or PNG — plus TXT when what you actually need is the recognized text rather than the page.
As a rule: anything with multiple pages, totals, or a signature travels better as a PDF; a single page someone will only view on a screen is fine as a JPG. And when a file must be findable later, export a searchable PDF so the text layer travels with it — see make a searchable PDF.
Yes. Microsoft ended support on February 9, 2026. The app stopped creating new scans after March 9, 2026.
Microsoft says previous scans remain accessible if Lens stays installed and you are signed into the last active account. Copy important scans before uninstalling the app or replacing the device.
Microsoft recommends the OneDrive scanner. Apple Notes and Files work for basic scanning, while ScanLens is an option for local PDFs, on-device OCR, and additional PDF tools.
No. Microsoft removed Lens from the Apple App Store and Google Play on February 9, 2026, so it is no longer available to install from the stores. If Lens is not on your device anymore, move straight to a replacement and recover files from wherever your scans were saved or shared.
Microsoft states that the OneDrive scanner does not support saving scans locally on the device — scans are stored in your OneDrive. If you need documents to exist as files on the iPhone itself, use a scanner that keeps a local library or exports to the Files app.
Copy each scan out of Lens while access still works, then import: ScanLens brings in PDFs from the Files app and photos from the camera roll, and imported documents get the same OCR, folders, and export options as new scans.
Microsoft Lens was free, with no subscription for scanning — which is why it is still searched for by name. It stopped creating new scans on 9 March 2026, so a free download today does not get you a working scanner. If that is what brought you here, the practical question is no longer what Lens cost but what replaces it: this page compares the workflow it offered with what is available now.
A full PDF toolkit with on-device OCR, app lock, and a lifetime purchase option. Free to start.
