A QR code is only a pattern of squares that stores some text. The pattern cannot expire: a code printed today will still hold the same text in twenty years. When a code "stops working", something else stopped.
Static codes cannot expire
A static code stores its content directly: the URL, the WiFi password, the contact card. A phone reads it without asking any server, so no company can switch it off. It only breaks if what it points to breaks, for example a web page that was moved or a WiFi password that changed.
Dynamic codes depend on a short link
A dynamic code stores a short link, such as https://qrsome.com/r/k3X9mPq, and the service behind
that link redirects each scan to your real URL. That is what lets you change the destination after
printing and count scans. It also means the code works only while the service keeps that short link
alive. This is where codes "expire":
- Trials that end. Some generators make dynamic codes for free, then turn them off when the trial is over unless you subscribe.
- Plans that lapse. Some services deactivate every dynamic code when a subscription ends, or send scans to a page asking the owner to pay.
- Scan caps. Some plans stop redirecting after a number of scans per month.
- Deleted codes or accounts. Deleting the code deletes its link, everywhere.
How it works on QRsome
- Dynamic codes have no expiry date, no trial that runs out and no scan cap. They keep redirecting for as long as they are in your account.
- Free includes 10 active dynamic codes and 100 new static codes per calendar month (UTC). Existing codes keep working when a creation allowance is reached. Generation is also rate limited.
- A dynamic code stops only when you delete it, or delete your data. Your assistant asks you to confirm first, because printed copies stop working.
Checking a code before you print it
Scan it with your phone and look at the address it opens. If it is your own website, it is a static code and nothing can switch it off. If it is a short link on a QR service's domain, it is dynamic: read that service's terms for what happens when a trial or plan ends before you print a thousand flyers.