Device and scanning issues
Fixes for 'Scanning unavailable,' empty scans, photos that find nothing, and pieces that drop from measured to estimated.
Most scanning problems come down to hardware (LiDAR needs a Pro device) or pace (moving too fast). Here's how to read each message and what to do.
"Scanning unavailable"
LiDAR scanning only runs on devices with a LiDAR scanner. On any other device, or on the Simulator, the app shows a "Scanning unavailable" screen instead of the scanner, with one of these reasons:
- "This device has no LiDAR scanner. Room scanning needs an iPhone Pro (12 Pro or later) or iPad Pro." — you're on a non-Pro device.
- "Room scanning isn't available on this device." — the device can't run RoomPlan.
- "Room scanning requires iOS 16 or later." — the OS is too old.
What to do: Use a Pro device for LiDAR, or capture another way on this device. You can still photograph items, dictate them, or add from the catalog. See Choosing a capture method.
Note: LiDAR is on iPhone Pro models (12 Pro and newer) and iPad Pro. A regular iPhone can do photo, voice, and catalog capture, just not LiDAR.
"No objects were detected"
If a scan ends without finding furniture, the review screen shows: "No objects were detected. Try again, moving slowly so the scanner sees each piece of furniture."
What to do: Rescan the room, walking slowly and giving each large piece a moment in frame. Rushing is the most common cause. See Scan a room with LiDAR.
A piece dropped from MEASURED to EST.
Each scanned piece shows a badge: MEASURED (LiDAR locked a real measurement) or EST. (a catalog estimate, not a measurement). If a piece was measured and then dropped to an estimate, the scanner lost track of it mid-scan and retracted the measurement.
What to do: Re-point at the item so the scanner can pick it up again, or fix the cube by hand later in the Item Editor. Also note: setting a quantity above 1 (for example "six chairs") releases the single LiDAR measurement on purpose, measurements are for single pieces, so those come back as estimates. See Walk and talk.
Tip: Slow down and keep each large item in frame for a beat. The app gives a firm tap when a measurement locks on and a soft tap when a piece lands as an estimate, so you can feel which you got.
Photographing items finds nothing
When you photograph a room with AI on, the app can come back empty or fall back:
- "No movable items were found in that photo. Try a wider shot." — the photo didn't show anything the AI could turn into items. Step back and reshoot so more of the room is in frame.
- "AI couldn't analyze that photo. Added a single best-guess item instead." — the cloud analysis failed, so the app fell back to on-device identification and added one best-guess item. Check and correct that item, then reshoot if you need more.
- "Couldn't analyze photo" (alert title) — the analysis couldn't complete; the message underneath explains why. Try again, or capture the item another way.
See Photos and AI issues for more on the AI path.
RoomPlan names look wrong
Apple's scanner reports furniture as broad shapes, so most cabinets, dressers, and wardrobes come back as "Storage / Cabinet." That's expected. The app refines the real name from what you say during the walk and, when AI is on, from vision, while the measured size always comes from LiDAR. Fix any name on the review screen or in the Item Editor.
The scan hit a problem
If a scan fails outright you may see "The room scan hit a problem. Try again." Close the scanner and start the room again. If it keeps happening, restart the app and confirm the device isn't low on storage.