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Why did my QR code stop working?

A printed QR code does not wear out and cannot expire on its own. When one stops working it is almost always because it was a dynamic code — the pattern encodes a vendor’s short link, and that vendor stopped redirecting it. Scan the code below and this page will tell you which kind you have, what usually ends codes on that service, and how to reprint something that cannot be switched off.

Everything runs in your browser. The image is never uploaded, and the code’s destination is never opened.

Decoded on your device. The image is never uploaded, and the code’s destination is never opened.

Redirect domains this recognises

If a scanned code contains one of these hosts, it is a dynamic code and the redirect is the part that stopped — not the printing.

Missing one? Tell us the domain and it gets added.

Common questions

Why did my QR code stop working?
If the code routes through a QR vendor's short domain, the printed pattern is still fine — the redirect behind it stopped. That normally means an expired trial, a free-plan scan cap, or a lapsed subscription. If the code encodes your destination directly it cannot expire, so the cause is the destination moving or a physical scanning problem.
Can a QR code expire on its own?
No. A QR code is a printed pattern that encodes data. A static code — WiFi details, a contact card, a plain URL — works forever because nothing is stored on a server. Only dynamic codes, which encode a vendor's short link, can be switched off, and it is the vendor's redirect that expires rather than the code.
Is my QR code uploaded anywhere?
No. The image is decoded in your browser with a local decoder, and the diagnosis is worked out on your device. UseQR never receives the image, and never opens the code's destination — so the site behind a dead code is not told you are looking.
Can I get my printed QR code working again?
Not the vendor's redirect — only whoever owns that account can restore it. But you can reprint. Rebuild the code here pointing straight at your destination and it will keep working permanently, with no account and no plan behind it.
How do I avoid this next time?
Use a static code whenever the destination is stable, since nothing in the chain can be revoked. When you genuinely need to change the destination later, point the code at a URL on a domain you control and manage the redirect yourself, so no third party can turn it off.

Print something that cannot be revoked

UseQR generates static codes in your browser, free, with no account and no expiry. There is no plan to lapse because there is no plan.

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