My free code stopped working after I printed it. Can it be rescued?

Not the printed one, if it points at a provider's short link that has been switched off; only that provider can turn it back on. What you can do is make a fresh static code here, free, that can never be switched off, and reprint. If you need to change the destination later, make it a tracked code with a published lapse policy instead.

Do Scanlight's free codes expire?

No. Free codes are static, contain your destination directly, and work forever. There is no account, no watermark, no trial and no scan limit.

What happens to a tracked code if I cancel?

It keeps forwarding for 30 days after your plan ends. After that, scanning shows a plain page saying the code is no longer active. It is never an advert and never redirects somewhere you did not choose. Your codes and analytics are kept for a year, and resubscribing restores everything.

Do QR codes expire?

A static QR code cannot expire: the destination is in the pattern itself, so it works forever, with or without the company that made it. A dynamic or tracked code contains a short link owned by a service, so it works only while that service keeps forwarding it. Whether it stops after a trial, after a missed payment, or never, depends entirely on the provider's policy, and most do not publish one.

The two kinds, and why only one can expire

A static code holds your web address, Wi-Fi details or contact card inside the pattern. A phone reads it and acts on it. No server is involved, so there is nothing to switch off. Every free code made on this site is static, and it keeps working whether or not Scanlight exists.

A dynamic or tracked code holds a short link instead, and the provider's server forwards each scan to the real destination. That is what makes it changeable and countable. It is also what makes it mortal: if the provider stops forwarding, the printed code points at nothing.

How free codes come to expire

Most services that offer a free dynamic code are offering a trial. The code works for a week or two, or up to a scan limit, and then it is paused until you pay. Some show an advert before forwarding on free plans. Some delete unregistered codes after a year without a scan. The details live in help articles, not on the page where you made the code.

The people this hurts most are the ones who printed. Business cards, menus, a vehicle wrap, a batch of event flyers, all pointing at a code that was quietly switched off. It is the most common complaint in reviews of QR services, by a wide margin.

What to ask before you print a tracked code

Four questions settle it. Does the free code expire, and when? What happens to printed codes if a payment fails? Is there a grace period, and what does a scan show during it? And is the policy written down somewhere you can find it before you pay?

Scanlight's answers are on the pricing page, above the plans, because you should know them before you print anything: a paid code keeps working for 30 days after a plan ends, then shows a plain page saying the code is no longer active. Never an advert, never an error page, never a redirect you did not choose. Everything is kept for a year, so resubscribing restores it exactly as it was.

How to find out which kind you already have

Use the checker below with a photo or the image file. It reads the code back and shows exactly what it contains. If the destination is your own web address, it is static and cannot expire. If it is a short link on a QR provider's domain, it is dynamic, and it depends on that account staying active.

Check your code now

A photo or the image file. It is read on your device and never uploaded.

Step 1

Add a picture of the code

A photo of the printed code, a screenshot, or the image file you were given. It stays on your device.

Choose a photo or drop one hereOn a phone this opens your camera. You can also paste a screenshot.

Step 2

Where is it, or where will it go?

We work out how big it needs to be printed to scan from that distance.

Questions

My free code stopped working after I printed it. Can it be rescued?: Not the printed one, if it points at a provider's short link that has been switched off; only that provider can turn it back on. What you can do is make a fresh static code here, free, that can never be switched off, and reprint. If you need to change the destination later, make it a tracked code with a published lapse policy instead.
Do Scanlight's free codes expire?: No. Free codes are static, contain your destination directly, and work forever. There is no account, no watermark, no trial and no scan limit.
What happens to a tracked code if I cancel?: It keeps forwarding for 30 days after your plan ends. After that, scanning shows a plain page saying the code is no longer active. It is never an advert and never redirects somewhere you did not choose. Your codes and analytics are kept for a year, and resubscribing restores everything.

More guides

What size should a QR code be?The rule is scanning distance divided by ten, adjusted for how much data the code holds. Work out the exact size for your code and where it is going.
Static vs dynamic QR codes: the honest differenceStatic codes contain the destination and work forever. Dynamic codes contain a redirect you can change and can be tracked. Here is what each actually costs you.
Why QR codes fail to scanSix reasons a printed QR code does not work, in the order they actually occur, and how to tell which one you have.
My QR code stopped working after I printed itWhy a printed QR code that used to scan suddenly does not, how to find the cause in two minutes, and what to do about the batch you already printed.