What Happens to Your QR Code After the Free Trial Expires?
Print collateral is expensive. Finding out your restaurant menu or product packaging points to a "Subscription Expired" page 7 days later is a costly mistake.
It is a common scenario: you create a QR code online, download it, print it on hundreds of flyers, and a week later, customers report that the code is broken. Many high-ranking QR generators operate on a SaaS model. Their primary product is a Dynamic QR Code, which requires active server routing.
The 7-Day Trap
Two of the largest platforms publish exactly what happens, in their own support centres. Read this before you print — and check the current wording yourself, because terms change:
- QRCG (Bitly): its support centre states that when the free trial expires, dynamic QR codes are deactivated and point to a service page instead of your destination; upgrading to a paid plan reactivates them1.
- QRFY: its support centre states that dynamic QR codes created during the 7-day free trial are deactivated when the trial ends, and that reactivating one means upgrading the account it was created in2.
Why Can't You Just Switch Providers?
When you generate a dynamic QR using a subscription provider, the graphical code inherently points to a shortlink owned by them (e.g., qr.123.com/xyz). You cannot reroute that physical printed pattern to a different provider without the original domain owner's consent. Once it is printed, you are entirely dependent on their pricing model.
The Alternative: A QR Code That Truly Belongs to You
At Eternal QR, we believe your printed QR should not be held hostage by a recurring subscription. By choosing the paid Eternal tier, your encrypted routing record is anchored to Base and can be recovered with your exported key.
It is a one-time ownership model for critical QR codes, not a subscription trap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do QR codes stop working after the free trial?
Yes, for some subscription QR code platforms. Services that use dynamic QR codes require the link to redirect through their servers. When a trial or paid plan ends, vendor policy determines whether the printed code keeps redirecting.
Can I reactivate an expired QR code?
Yes, but usually only by paying the subscription fee of the provider that generated it. Because the underlying URL is locked to their domain, you cannot simply port the printed QR code to another free provider.
How do I make a QR code that never expires?
Choose a model where the printed pattern is not tied to a recurring subscription. Eternal QR's paid Eternal tier anchors the encrypted routing record to Base and gives you a recovery key for off-grid destination recovery.