Samuel, Charles is right in that there are many factors in effecting how well bar codes can be scanned. We should probably do a webinar for you guys so that you know all the tips and tricks that we have become experts on over the years. One tool that you probably want to become familiar with is CtlPanel application that we provide. I am not sure if it is on your device by default. But you can download it from Support Website. I whipped up a simple PPT to walk you through some settings that might help you make glossy bar codes work better. The flash and possibly the 'red laser' may cause enough reflection along with the other conditions Charles mentioned. An application can control those settings and a host of other scanner settings though our API's, but through the use of the CTLPanel application, you can control these through a simple interface. In the attached PPT, I suggest that you turn off the flash(i.e.Illumination: Off), turn off the 'red laser' (i.e. Aim Mode:None) and enable the on screen viewfinder indication (Viewfinder Mode: Dynamic Reticle). There are quite of other useful things you can do with this CtlPanel.exe - I will work with Mark Johnson on putting together a webinar on the subject. Let me know if any of this has help. If not then I would like to get a hold of a sample bar code to review. Thanks Rob Galvin - Motorola Solutions

Simply aiming at an off-angle will help even when illumination is enabled. This is done by tilting the keypad face of the ES400 downward. You should also check the quality of the bar codes. A quick check would be to Xerox them on a fine resolution printer at high quality to eliminate any reflection or contrast problems and then scan the copies. It would also be helpful if you could send samples to Rob or me for analysis.

I am no expert, so take the following with care: I did some experiments myself, and I am thinking glossyness may not be your issue.  I had no problem scanning barcodes in the following situations: printed paper through the side of a clear plastic bandaid container  Glossy barcode printed on the outside of a plastic beef jerky container Glossy barcode on a verry glossy plastic wrapper. So things to check would be: distance of phone to the barcode    Needs to be steady so autofocus doesn't keep working correct aim : barcode nearly fills screen and does not extend out of screen and is horizontal across screen Ambient light issues Clarity of print on the barcode itself. Good luck Chris