First: nothing was charged
A scan uses one of your scans only when a contact is saved. If the photo is refused, the read fails or the connection drops, the scan is given back automatically. You never need to ask for it.
Try this photo again
When the problem was the connection or the service, not the photo, a Try this photo again button appears under the message. It sends the same photo again, so there is no need to retake it. Keep the scan sheet open: if you close it, the photo is not kept and you take a new one.
You can close the sheet while Swops is reading, and the scan carries on. A short message then tells you whether the contact was saved, or why not.
Messages in the scan sheet
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| That photo does not look like a business card. Nothing was charged. | Swops did not recognise a card or badge in the photo. | Take it again, closer and in even light. See “That photo does not look like a business card”. |
| The AI service did not respond. Nothing was charged; please try again. | The service that reads cards had a hiccup. | Tap Try this photo again. If it keeps happening, wait a minute. |
| You can scan up to 60 cards an hour. Try again in 12 minutes, or enter the contact manually. | You reached the fair-use limit of 60 card reads an hour. The minutes shown vary. | Enter the contact manually for now (free). See “You can scan up to 60 cards an hour”. |
| AI is paused for a short while. Nothing was charged. Please try again later. | New AI work is paused for everyone for a while. It is not about your account. | Enter contacts manually and keep the cards to scan later. |
| HEIC photos cannot be read. Retake the photo with the in-app camera, or upload a JPEG, PNG or WebP. | You uploaded an iPhone HEIC photo that your browser could not convert. | Use Scan Card instead of Upload a photo, or upload a JPEG. |
| Choose a photo of the card (JPG, PNG or HEIC). | The file you picked is not a photo, for example a PDF or a video. | Pick a photo, or use Scan Card. |
| Could not open the photo. Try a JPG or PNG. | Your phone could not open the file. | Take a new photo with Scan Card. |
| Upload a JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC photo. | The file type is not one Swops reads. | Upload a JPEG, PNG or WebP. |
| The photo is empty. Take the photo again. | The file arrived empty. | Take the photo again. |
| The upload could not be read. Please try again. | The upload broke off on the way. | Tap Scan Card again, ideally on a better connection. |
| Could not prepare the photo. Try again. | Your phone could not get the photo ready to send. | Try again. If it repeats, close other apps or restart the browser. |
| You appear to be offline. Check your connection and try again. | The photo could not reach Swops. | Tap Try this photo again once you are connected. See Poor connection at the venue. |
| Something went wrong. Please try again. | An unexpected error. | Tap Try this photo again. |
| This collection is archived. Restore it to add or change contacts. | The collection you are saving to was archived. | Restore it, or choose another collection at the top of the scan sheet. See Rename, archive and restore a collection. |
| Your access period has ended. You can still view and export this collection. | The workspace is in its export-only period. | Choose a plan to keep scanning. See What happens when a plan ends. |
When Scan opens something else
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You’ve used your scans | No scans are left in this workspace. | Add a 500-scan top-up (€39), or keep going with free manual entry. Top-ups need an active paid plan and only the owner can buy one. See Top-ups. |
| Choose a plan first | This workspace has no plan yet, or it has expired, for example after the free trial. | Tap View plans. See Choose a plan and pay. |
| This collection is read-only | The current collection is archived (often because you opened it from Collections, which makes it the current one), or the workspace’s access has ended. | If the collection is archived, close the sheet and choose an active collection with the destination button on the Overview. If access has ended, tap View collection to export, or Plans & usage to choose a plan. See Choose where new contacts go and Why a collection is read-only. |
| The Collections page opens with Choose or create a collection first. | This workspace has no collections at all. (If all of them are archived, you see This collection is read-only instead.) | Create a collection. See Create a collection. |
| Nothing opens, and Save your changes or discard them below. | You have unsaved changes on the contact you are looking at. | Tap Save changes or Discard changes, then tap Scan again. |
| Scan cards on your phone | You are in the laptop layout, which has no scanning. | Scan on your phone, or tap Add contact manually. See What you can do on the phone and the laptop. |
| The camera does not open | Usually a camera permission. | See The camera does not open. |
The contact saved, but something looks off
- It opened someone you already had, with Already in this collection · no scan used. See “Already in this collection”.
- A detail is wrong or missing. Tap it on the contact and correct it. Details the AI was unsure about are marked Check this detail · it was hard to read on the card. See Check and correct a scanned contact.
- It went into the wrong collection. The destination is the line at the top of the scan sheet. See Choose where new contacts go.
Never lose a visitor to an error
Whatever the message, Enter manually is always there and always free. Type the name and company while the person is still in front of you, and fill in the rest later.