Question 1

Do static QR codes ever expire?

Accepted Answer

Static QR codes don't expire by design — the destination URL is encoded directly into the dot pattern of the image. As long as the destination URL on your end is still live, the QR works forever. The image itself is just math; there's no server involved at scan time, so there's nothing to 'expire.' What can break is the destination URL — if you take down the page or change its address, the QR points to a dead link.

Question 2

What about dynamic QR codes — those need a server, right?

Accepted Answer

Yes — dynamic QRs point to a redirect server (qrth.is/r/abc), and that server needs to keep running for the QR to work. At QRThis, the redirect runs as long as your account is active. Free tier is indefinitely active; Pro tier is one-time payment with no renewal. We don't auto-expire QRs.

Question 3

Why do some QR generators expire codes after a free trial?

Accepted Answer

Pricing strategy. By expiring free codes, they force users who've already printed materials to subscribe rather than reprint. It's a coercive pattern — fine to know about, easy to avoid by using generators that don't do this. QRThis doesn't expire codes; the free tier is genuinely free.

Question 4

If QRThis shuts down someday, what happens to my dynamic QRs?

Accepted Answer

We'd give advance notice and provide a migration path (export your destination URLs, regenerate as static QRs pointing to them directly). It's worth being honest: any dynamic QR depends on the redirect server existing. Static QRs are the safer bet for permanence — they don't depend on any third party staying alive. For mission-critical use cases, weigh that trade-off.

QR codes that don't expire.

The problem

The fix

What you get

Questions

Related

Ready to make one?

More th.is tools