WhatsApp Built in Scanner Won't Work I have spent 2 days reading everything on the web concerning this issue and trying all the solutions suggested, with no success.

The problem:

When I try to connect to to WhatsApp Web, the QR will show on the screen, but the phone will not read it. It seems its not even trying to read it, because I don't see the process line I used to see running up and down the scanner (though I have re-installed WhatsApp, so maybe the new version simply does not have that line, I don't know).

Relevant Information:

I am using Chrome, and my phone is a Samsung Galaxy S7 with Android 8.0.0.
I have been using Whatsapp Web successfully for nearly a year with the same laptop, same browser, same phone. Once in every 2-3 months I get disconnecte/logged out from the web version, so I set it up again (the usual way, reading the QR code and everything) without any problem, so its not like I am holding it wrong or something like that. I got disconnected again 2 days ago and cant set it up since.

The problem started after I made some changes to my Chrome Browser (removed many extensions and add-ons. and added others).

Here's what I checked/tried so far:


My internet connection is fine and the speed is normal for both phone and laptop.
The QR code and phone camera are fine - I had no problem reading the QR code with 3rd party scanners (not the one within whatsapp).
I cleared cookies and browsing data on Chrome. I ran Chrome in Incognito mode.
I installed Edge and Tried with that browser - It didn't work.
I rebooted both laptop and phone.
I un-installed and re-installed whatsapp on my phone .
I've checked whether there are any updates to my phone software. There are none. It is up to date.
I ran Avast on my PC, and than installed Restoro and ran it too - with no impact.
I made the QR code larger to 175% as some suggested (though I didnt expect it to work because like I said, I've done it many times before without having to enlarge the QR).
My phone screen is not too small, I see the "OK, got it" button. Like I said, using the same phone I used before without any problems.
I thought maybe there is a conflict between the 3rd party QR scanner (which I downloaded recently) and the one within whatsapp, so I un-installed the 3rd party = didnt help.
I turned off wifi on the phone to use the cellular network. turned it on again. switched plane mode on and off again - did not work.
(Added) Cleared the cache of the camera app - no impact.


I do not wish to use an Android emulator on my laptop, which I understand is a workaround.
I really love Whatsapp web, hate to type on the phone. I am just about to give up.

Anyone? Anything? i will be forever in your debt :)
Thanks,
Galia.
Found a decent workaround: I managed to scan the native app in Windows, installed from the link whatsapp.com/download. It's not a perfect solution, because I rather have it as a tab on my chrome, rather than a stand alone application, but it's close enough. I wish Whatsapp will come up with another authentication method, because it seems that many users are experiencing problems with the current approach.