Since the relative distance of the Hadamard code is 1/2, normally one can only hope to recover from at most a 1/4 fraction of error. Using [[list decoding]], however, it is possible to compute a short list of possible candidate messages as long as fewer than <math>\frac{1}{2}-\epsilon</math> of the bits in the received word have been corrupted.
In [[code division multiple access]] (CDMA) communication, the Hadamard code is referred to as Walsh Code, and is used to define individual [[telecommunications|communication]][[channel (communications)|channels]]s. It is usual in the CDMA literature to refer to codewords as “codes”. Each user will use a different codeword, or “code”, to modulate their signal. Because Walsh codewords are mathematically [[orthogonal]], a Walsh-encoded signal appears as [[random noise]] to a CDMA capable mobile [[terminal (telecommunication)|terminal]], unless that terminal uses the same codeword as the one used to encode the incoming [[signal (information theory)|signal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://complextoreal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CDMA.pdf|title=CDMA Tutorial: Intuitive Guide to Principles of Communications|publisher=Complex to Real|access-date=10 November 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720084646/http://www.complextoreal.com/CDMA.pdf|archive-date=20 July 2011|df=}}</ref>
