QR code stopped working after a free trial? Here is why

A customer sends a photo of your poster with the message "this doesn't work". You scan it yourself and land on an error page, a login screen or a page full of ads. If your QR code stopped working a week or two after you signed up for a generator, the end of a free trial is the most likely cause. The good news: in many cases you can still rescue the printed codes.

Why a QR code stopped working after the trial

There are two kinds of QR code. A static code holds your web address inside the pattern. A dynamic code holds a short link that belongs to the provider. When someone scans a dynamic code, the provider's server looks up your destination and forwards the visitor. That extra step is what lets you edit the code after printing and count scans.

It is also the weak point. If the provider stops forwarding, the code stops working, even though nothing changed on paper. Many providers do exactly that when a trial or subscription ends. Our article on whether QR codes expire explains the difference between the two kinds in more depth. This guide is about what to do once it has already happened.

Step 1: find out what kind of code you printed

Scan the code with a phone camera and watch the address that appears before the page opens. If it shows your own domain, you printed a static code and the trial is not the cause. In that case, check whether the page itself moved or went offline.

If the address starts with the generator's domain, you printed a dynamic code. Now look at what the scan shows:

• An error page or a message that the code is inactive. The provider has switched the code off.
• A page asking the owner to log in or upgrade. The code is paused but probably not deleted.
• Your page, but with ads around it. The provider has moved you to a free plan with advertising.
• A neutral holding page from the provider. Some providers show this instead of an error.

Write down which of these you see. It tells you which rescue route is open.

Step 2: check what your provider says

We read the help and pricing pages of six providers on 14 October 2026. This is what each of them writes about the end of a trial or subscription.

• Scanova: "Once the free trial or paid subscription ends, all Dynamic QR Codes are automatically deactivated." Static codes keep working. Codes and data are kept for 26 months and then permanently deleted.
• Uniqode: "Once your free trial expires, any dynamic QR Codes you created will become inactive." Tracking pauses until a subscription starts. Static codes keep working.
• qr-code-generator.com: the trial lasts 14 days, and you continue "by providing us with your payment details". The page we read did not say what happens to codes if you do not.
• QR.io: the trial lasts 7 days and static codes "will continue to work after the free trial expires". The page does not say what happens to dynamic codes.
• QRCodeChimp: when a paid plan is not renewed, the account moves to the free plan "and the dynamic codes other than the last 10 will be paused". The free plan allows 1,000 scans per month.
• ME-QR: after cancelling "you can continue using your QR codes", but ad-free codes require a Premium subscription.

Step 3: choose a rescue route

Take a dental practice that printed 2,000 appointment cards during a trial. Each card carries a dynamic code to the online booking page. Two weeks later the code opens an error. The practice has four options, from quickest to most work.

Reactivate the account. If the provider keeps deactivated codes, paying for a plan usually brings them back. Scanova writes that codes are restored once payment succeeds. This is the fastest fix when thousands of cards are already in patients' wallets.

Keep the plan only as long as you need it. Once the account works again, the practice can point the old code at its booking page for as long as the cards are in use. Meanwhile it prints new cards with a code it controls on better terms.

Cover it. On posters, signs and shop windows, a sticker with a new code over the old one costs little. On small cards or packaging this rarely works.

Reprint. If the provider has deleted the codes, or the account belonged to someone who left, reprinting is the only clean route. Check the destination and test the new code with two phones before the run.

If you do not know who owns the account, Scanova offers a "Notify Owner" option when the expired code is scanned, which emails the registered address. Other providers may offer something similar on their holding page.

Whichever route you take, test the result before you call it solved. Scan a real card, not the image on your screen, with an iPhone and an Android phone. Check that the booking page loads quickly on mobile data. Then note the date and the plan you chose, so the same surprise does not return when the next billing period ends.

When the trial is not the cause

Sometimes the timing is a coincidence. If the scan shows your own domain, or the provider's page says the code is active, look elsewhere. Three causes come up often.

The first is a moved page. A website redesign, a new shop system or a renamed campaign page can turn the destination into a 404. The code still works; the page behind it does not. Set a redirect from the old address to the new one and the code is fixed without touching the print.

The second is a print problem. A code that is too small, printed with too little contrast or cut too close to the edge may never have scanned well. If only some phones fail, test with several devices and lighting conditions.

The third is a blocked link. Some company networks and security apps block unknown short-link domains. If the code works on mobile data but not on the office Wi-Fi, the network is the cause, not the code.

How to avoid it next time

Before you print a dynamic code from any provider, ask four questions. What happens to the code on the last day of the trial? What happens on the day a paid plan ends? How long does the provider keep deactivated codes? And can you change the destination to a page you control without paying again?

A few habits help as well. Register the account with a shared company address, not a personal one. Keep a list of every printed code, its type and where it appears. Use static codes for destinations that will never change. Use dynamic codes where you need to edit or count, and choose a provider that tells you plainly what the code shows after cancellation. Our page on codes that survive cancellation compares one common case.

What EUQR does when you stop paying

EUQR has no trial for dynamic codes, so there is no day seven or day fourteen on which your print stops working. Static codes are free, need no account and never pass through our servers. Editable dynamic codes start on a paid plan at €0.99 per month.

If you cancel, every dynamic code shows your own branded Recovery Page for 90 days. That page can tell visitors where to go instead, while you reprint or move. After 90 days the code shows a generic EUQR page. It never ends in a dead 404. The idea grew out of what happened when Google shut down its short links; our article on goo.gl and the Recovery Page tells that story. You can compare the plans on the EUQR pricing page.

Sources checked on 14 October 2026: Scanova help centre, Uniqode pricing FAQ, qr-code-generator.com pricing, QR.io pricing, QRCodeChimp pricing and ME-QR pricing.