Quick answer: Microsoft's own replacement is the scan feature in the OneDrive mobile app, which saves to OneDrive. If you would rather have a PDF on your phone with no app and no account, open Altto's Scan to PDF, take a photo of each page, pick black and white, and save one PDF. It has no automatic edge detection and no text recognition.
What happened to Microsoft Lens
Microsoft announced that the Lens app for iOS and Android would be removed from the app stores on 9 February 2026, with scanning stopping on 9 March 2026, and recommended the scan feature in the OneDrive app instead. Sources: Windows Central and BleepingComputer. Check Microsoft's own support pages for the latest.
Your options
| Option | Good for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| OneDrive app scan | Microsoft's recommended replacement; also does whiteboards, business cards and photos | Needs a Microsoft account; press coverage says scans are saved to OneDrive, not locally |
| Your phone's built-in scanner (for example the document scanner in Apple Notes or Files on iPhone, or Google Drive on Android) | Automatic edge detection and tidy-up, nothing extra to install | Features and menus differ by phone and software version |
| A scanner app such as Adobe Scan | Text recognition and cloud storage | An app to install; usually an account, and some features are paid |
| Altto Scan to PDF | A quick PDF from photos with no app, no sign-in and no upload | No automatic edge detection or text recognition; you rotate and choose the colour mode yourself |
Details about other products come from public coverage and their own sites and can change; check before relying on them.
How to scan to PDF with Altto
- Open Scan to PDF on your phone.
- Tap Take a photo for each page, or add existing photos from your gallery.
- Rotate any page that came out sideways, then pick Colour, Greyscale or Black & white.
- Save the PDF. The photos are processed in your browser and are never uploaded.
For the best result, put the page on a plain dark surface, use daylight or a lamp that does not cast your shadow on the paper, and shoot straight from above. Need to shrink or join the result afterwards? Use Compress PDF or Merge PDF.
Where Altto is the better choice
- No app and no account. It runs in the browser on any phone or computer.
- Private. Your photos stay on your device.
- The PDF stays with you. It downloads to your phone rather than into a cloud account.
Where another option is the better choice
- Automatic edge detection. Your phone's built-in scanner or a scanner app straightens and crops for you; Altto does not.
- Searchable text. Altto does not do OCR. Scanner apps do, and so does the OneDrive scanner according to Microsoft's description.
- Whiteboards, business cards and syncing. The OneDrive app is built for those.
Common questions
When did Microsoft Lens stop working?
Can I still open scans I made in Microsoft Lens?
Does OneDrive save scans to my phone?
Does Altto’s Scan to PDF find the edges of the page automatically?
Is Altto connected to Microsoft?
Try it with your own pages
Free, no sign-up — and nothing is uploaded.
Microsoft and Lens are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Altto is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Microsoft. Facts about Microsoft Lens were checked in public reporting on 15 October 2026 and may have changed.
Sources
Where the facts in this guide come from:
- Microsoft Support — Retirement of Microsoft Lens (store removal, scanning ending on 9 March 2026, access to earlier scans, OneDrive as the suggested replacement)