QR code stopped working? Find the cause and fix it
A QR code that worked last month and fails today usually has one of three causes. Scan it and watch what happens: that tells you which one, and most can be fixed without new prints.
Trial ending soon, and your codes still work? Here's what to check first.
First, scan it and see what happens
- Nothing happens. The phone can't read the code. Jump to "It won't scan at all" below.
- An upgrade, "expired" or "paused" page opens. The code is an editable one, and the plan behind it has ended.
- An error page or the wrong page opens. The code still works, but the page it points to has moved or gone.
It opens an upgrade or "paused" page
An editable code, also called a dynamic code, holds a short link to a QR service, not your page. When someone scans it, the service sends them on. If the plan ends, some services stop sending people on.
Some QR services switch codes off when a free trial ends, often after a week or two. Many people don't know their code is an editable one until it stops.
- Scan the code and read the short link before you open it. The service's name is usually in it. A short link like this almost always means an editable code. Static and editable codes, compared.
- Sign in there. Paying again usually brings the code back at once, because the printed code never changed.
- An editable code can't move to another service, because the short link inside belongs to the service that made it. If you don't want to pay, plan to replace the code (see below).
It opens the wrong page or an error
The code is fine, but the page is not.
- An editable code: sign in and paste the new link. Saving the new destination updates the link behind every printed copy. Saved pauses and access restrictions still apply. How to change a QR code's link.
- A fixed code that opens your own website: ask whoever runs the site to forward the old link to the new page.
- Anything else: you need a new code.
It won't scan at all
A code that scanned before and then stopped may be scratched, faded, or hidden by glare from new glass or a glossy cover. Our guide to QR codes that won't scan walks through the checks in order.
Replacing a code without a full reprint
Print the new code on a sticker at least as big as the old one, with its white border, and cover the old code completely. Any old pattern that peeks out can confuse phones. Make the new one editable so you can update its destination without replacing the stickers, while your plan allows editing.
If it's an ovbq code
A paused ovbq code shows a notice, with no ad or sales-page redirect. Any continue action follows the code's access restrictions. Exceptions are listed in Terms section 13. If your paid plan ended, nothing changes for 30 days, and we email you reminders on day 7 and day 25. After that, your 2 oldest website-link codes stay on Free, live or paused as you left them. Other codes show a notice. To fix it, sign in and pay again: paused codes come back at once, as many as your plan has room for, and nothing is deleted. What happens if you stop paying has every step and the exceptions. Fixed codes from our free QR code maker never depend on us.
Questions
Will my QR code expire?
A fixed code never expires; only the page it opens can go away. An editable code lasts as long as its service keeps it on. How to get a QR code that never expires.
How do I avoid this next time?
Before you print, find out what the service does when a trial ends or you stop paying. Keep a list of your codes and where each one points. On ovbq you can download that list any time, on every plan.
Choose a code for your print
Make a fixed code with no account, or read what happens to editable codes when a paid plan ends.