Add a signature with a QR code on iPhone and iPad
iOS offers no field for an HTML signature: the setting expects plain text. There is a reliable method all the same, which routes the signature through a message received on the device.
The steps
iOS only keeps the formatting if the signature is copied from a received e-mail.
- From your computer, send yourself a message containing the signature.
- On the iPhone, open it, select the whole signature and tap Copy.
- Settings → Apps → Mail → Signature.
- Paste, then shake the device and choose “Undo Typing”: this restores the original formatting.
The pitfall to know about
After pasting, shake the device and choose “Undo Typing”. That counter-intuitive gesture restores the original formatting that iOS had just flattened.
Why put a QR code in a signature?
A professional sends several thousand emails a year, and each one shows their signature to someone. A QR code placed there leads to a business card whose contents can change at any time: you change number, the card follows, and the messages already sent stay correct.
Create yours, free
Pick the fields, the layout and the colour, copy, paste. Your logo is accepted on the free plan, and the QR code leads to a card you can edit whenever you like.