Question 1

Do QR codes expire?

Accepted Answer

The pattern does not. Nothing in a printed QR code carries a date or can be revoked, so a pattern printed years ago still decodes to exactly the same string today. What can expire is the service that answers the short URL inside a dynamic code, or the destination that URL points at.

Question 2

How do I create a QR code that never expires, for free?

Accepted Answer

Either generate a static code, which encodes the destination in the pattern and cannot be switched off by anyone, or use a dynamic code on a platform whose terms keep the redirect alive after cancellation. Static codes are unlimited and free on every Scanduro plan; the free plan also includes three dynamic codes on those terms.

Question 3

Why did my QR code stop working?

Accepted Answer

Work through four causes in this order: the platform deactivated it after a lapse or trial ending; the design was never scannable at print size; the destination URL moved or returned an error; or the platform is gone. The first is the most common and the only one you cannot fix without a reprint or a new vendor.

Question 4

Can I make an existing printed code permanent?

Accepted Answer

Not directly, because the pattern encodes whichever short URL it was made with. If the printed code encodes a URL on a domain you control, you can repoint that path yourself. If it encodes a vendor's domain, you can only ask whether they will keep serving the path. Otherwise the code has to be reprinted.

Question 5

Do I need a subscription to keep a QR code alive?

Accepted Answer

You should not. On Scanduro the redirect does not depend on a live subscription; the paid features do. Check the answer for any other vendor against their own support pages, because several state in writing that codes deactivate when a plan lapses.

Question 6

How small can I print a QR code?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the module count, which depends on how much data you encoded. A practical rule for laser and offset printing is about 0.5 mm per module plus the four-module quiet zone, and a code is comfortably readable from roughly ten times its own width.

QR Code That Never Expires: How to Make One