Does a QR code I make stop working after a while?

Where the idea of expiring codes comes from

Some sites create codes that hold a redirect link on their own server and tie that redirect to a trial or a subscription. When the trial ends the redirect stops, so it looks as if the code 'expired'. A code you download from the QR code generator goes through no server at all: the phone reads the text straight from the squares. Scan it in ten years and you will read the same text.

Case one: the link inside it died

• You deleted the page or changed its address in your store, so the code now opens an error page.
• Your domain registration lapsed, so the site does not open at all.
• You moved to another store platform and every product link changed.

In each case the code is fine and the address is the problem. The prevention is to encode an address on your own domain that you plan to keep for years, and to renew the domain on time. Codes that hold no link at all, such as plain text, a phone number or Wi-Fi details, depend on no website and stay valid as long as the number or network stays the same.

Case two: the print wore out

Sun fades ink, and scratches and dirt cover parts of the pattern. This is where the error correction level you choose before downloading helps. The figures the tool shows come from the QR specification: level L survives damage to about 7% of the symbol, M about 15%, Q about 25% and H about 30%.

1. For outdoor stickers or codes that get touched a lot, choose Q or H.
2. Print on waterproof material or cover it with a clear protective layer.
3. Keep the blank frame around the code; the tool sets it to four modules by default, as the specification recommends.
4. Scan codes on display with your phone now and then, and replace any that have faded.