TidyToolsWhy your QR code can't expire here
A QR code is just a picture of some text. When your phone's camera reads one, it decodes the black and white squares straight back into whatever was written there — a web address, a WiFi password, a phone number. Nothing is fetched, looked up, or checked with anyone. That is what a static QR code is, and it's the only kind this tool makes.
The reason so many people search for why did my QR code stop working is that most "free" generators quietly hand out dynamic codes instead. A dynamic code doesn't contain your link at all — it contains a short URL pointing at the generator's own server, which then forwards visitors on to you. That indirection is sold as a feature (you can edit the destination later, you get scan analytics), and it genuinely is one, right up until the free trial ends, the account lapses, or the company folds. Then the redirect dies and every code you printed becomes a dead end. Your poster is still perfect; the middleman is gone.
A worked example
Say you run a café and you want a QR code on the table cards linking to your menu at example-cafe.com/menu. Paste that into the URL tab above and you get a 25×25 module code holding those 27 characters. Download the SVG, send it to the printer, and the pattern on that card contains the address itself. In five years, with TidyTools long forgotten, a phone pointed at that card still reads example-cafe.com/menu — because that string is physically what the squares spell out.
The trade-off is real and worth stating: a static code can't be edited. If your menu moves to a new address, the printed code still points at the old one. The fix is to keep the URL you encode under your own control — link to a page on your own domain and change what's on that page, rather than letting someone else own the redirect.
Choosing an error correction level
QR codes carry spare data so they still scan when scuffed, folded or partly covered. Level L recovers from roughly 7% damage and keeps the code small and open; H recovers from about 30% but packs in far more squares, so it needs to be printed larger to stay readable. M is the sensible default for anything on a screen or a clean printed page. Step up to Q or H for stickers, outdoor signage, curved surfaces like cups and bottles, or anywhere the code will get handled.
Frequently asked questions
Will this QR code ever expire or stop working?
No. It's a static code — the destination is encoded in the pattern itself, not stored on any server. There's no redirect to break, no account to lapse and no subscription to end. It works for as long as whatever it points to still exists.
Do I need to sign up or pay?
No. There's no account, no email capture, no free trial and no paid tier. The generator runs entirely in your browser — the text you type never leaves your device, and nothing is stored.
Can I edit the code after printing it?
Not the code itself, and that's the point — an editable code is one someone else can also switch off. If you need to change the destination later, encode a URL on a domain you control and change what that page does.
Why did my old QR code stop working?
Almost always because it was a dynamic code routed through a generator's short link, and that redirect was disabled when a trial or subscription ended. Here's the full explanation, and how to tell which kind you have.
Does it track scans?
No, and it can't. Tracking requires routing every scan through a server first, which is exactly the thing that makes a code able to expire. You get no analytics — and in exchange, nothing in the middle can fail.