Why did my QR code stop working?

You printed menus, posters, stickers or wedding invites. The code worked. Weeks later it points to a "this QR code has expired" page demanding money. Nothing is wrong with your printer, your phone, or QR codes. You got the subscription-hostage trick.

Static vs dynamic: the only thing that matters

A static QR code encodes your actual data (your URL, WiFi password, or contact card) directly in the black-and-white pattern. Once printed, it works forever. It needs no server, no company, no subscription. You cannot turn it off any more than you can turn off a printed sentence.

A dynamic QR code encodes a short link on the generator company's server (something like qrco.de/abc123), which redirects to your real destination. That has real uses, like editable destinations and scan stats. But it also puts the company between your customer and your content, forever.

The hostage business model

1. A "free" generator makes your code dynamic by default, often without saying so.
2. You test it. It works. You print 1,000 flyers.
3. The unannounced 14-day trial ends. The redirect is switched off. Your printed code is now dead.
4. Reactivating costs €10 to €15 a month, forever. Reprinting costs more. You pay.

This isn't a fringe scam: the market leader behind several top-ranking "free QR generator" sites holds a 1.5/5 rating across 9,000+ Trustpilot reviews, full of dead wedding codes and restaurant menus that stopped working on a busy Saturday.

Check if your QR code is a hostage

Scan your own code and look at the URL before it redirects (most camera apps show it). If it shows your own domain or data: it's static, it's yours, it's safe. If it shows somebody else's short domain (qrco.de, qr-code-generator.com/l/…, qrs.ly, …): your code lives on their server, on their terms.

Codes made here just can't die

qr plz makes static codes only, entirely in your browser. Your data never reaches a server. Not ours, not anyone's. There's no account, no trial, no redirect, nothing to expire. This website could vanish tomorrow and every code ever made with it would keep working, because a static QR code doesn't need anyone's permission to exist.

The honest trade-off: static codes can't be edited after printing, and they don't give you scan stats. If you really need those, use a dynamic provider you trust and pay them on purpose. Just don't print a dynamic code you didn't choose.