Why a QR code stops working, and how to fix it

1. The generator switched it off

If the link your camera shows starts with the generator’s address instead of yours, such as qrco.de, qr1.be, qr.beaconstac.com or flowcode.com, the code is dynamic. It holds the generator’s short link, which forwards each scan to your page. When the trial ends or the subscription lapses, many generators stop forwarding, and every printed copy stops working at once.

Checked in October 2026: Uniqode, QR TIGER and QR Code Generator PRO switch lapsed codes off. Flowcode keeps them scanning but locks editing.

Fix: only that generator can switch the code back on, by renewing. Nobody else can take over its short link, so the other way out is to reprint. For the reprint, a free code holds your link itself, with nothing in between to switch off. If you need to change the link later, QRPine’s dynamic codes keep opening the last link you set if you stop paying.

2. The page it opens moved or is gone

The code still works; the page does not. The usual causes: a PDF uploaded again under a new link, a redesigned website, a domain that was not renewed, or a changed social media username.

Fix: if you own the website, redirect the old address to the new page. Most website builders and hosts can do it, and every printed copy works again without a reprint. Otherwise, reprint. If the page might move again, a dynamic code lets you change where it points without reprinting.

3. It is printed too small

A code that scans on screen can fail on paper if it is too small for the distance people scan it from. Make it at least a tenth of that distance, and never under 2 cm (¾ in). A long link or a contact makes a denser code, which needs more room still. The size calculator works it out.

4. The colors are too close

Phones read the difference between the code and its background. Pale brand colors, gradients and light codes on dark backgrounds all cut it down. Aim for a contrast ratio of 7:1, with a dark code on a light background. QRPine’s scan check measures it before you download, and says what to change.

5. The border was cropped, or something covers the code

The white margin around a code is part of it: phones need it to find the code. Codes cropped to the edge of a design, placed against a busy background or half covered by a sticker often fail. So do codes on glossy or laminated surfaces, where glare hides part of the pattern, and codes across a fold.

6. The logo is too big

A code can lose up to 30% of its pattern and still scan, at its highest error correction. A logo larger than that, or one placed over one of the three corner squares, leaves phones too little to read. QRPine caps the logo at a size printed codes survive, and raises the error correction whenever there is one.

Check before the next print run

• Print one copy at its final size and scan it with two different phones, from where people will stand.
• Read the link the camera shows: it should be yours, or a short link from a generator you trust to keep it running.
• For a dynamic code, find out what happens to it if you stop paying, before you print it.