{"id":1027,"date":"2026-10-23T17:33:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T17:33:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jfdi-blog-why-qr-code-stopped-working"},"modified":"2026-10-24T13:42:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T13:42:38","slug":"why-qr-code-stopped-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jfdi.pro\/blog\/why-qr-code-stopped-working\/","title":{"rendered":"Why your free QR code stopped working, and how to make one that won’t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If a QR code that used to work now shows an error, an advert or a “subscription expired” page, it’s almost certainly a dynamic<\/strong> code. Dynamic codes don’t contain your link: they contain a short link to the QR company’s server, which forwards people to you, for as long as the company keeps doing it. A static<\/strong> code contains your link itself and keeps working forever. The JFDI QR code maker<\/a> only makes static codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Make a QR code that never expires<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Static and dynamic codes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/th>Static code<\/th>Dynamic code<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
What’s inside the code<\/td>Your actual link, Wi-Fi details or text<\/td>A short link to the QR company’s server<\/td><\/tr>
Works if the company closes or you stop paying<\/td>Yes, forever<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Can be tracked (how many scans, where, when)<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr>
Can show adverts or a landing page first<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr>
Can change the destination after printing<\/td>No<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dynamic codes are a real product with real uses, such as campaign tracking. The problem is that many sites offering “free QR codes” make dynamic ones by default, without making the catch clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What QR companies say themselves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You don’t have to take our word for it. One vendor, Uniqode, writes that dynamic codes “can expire when a subscription lapses, a monthly scan limit is reached”, and that free dynamic codes “expire when the free trial ends or when a monthly scan limit is reached” (Uniqode<\/a>). Another, QRStuff, says that when a paid subscription expires, “a 50 scans\/month limit is automatically applied to each code” (QRStuff<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The printed code looks exactly the same either way. You only find out when a customer tells you the code on your menu, poster or packaging doesn’t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to tell which kind you have<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Point your phone’s camera at the code and look at the link it shows before you open it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n