Can you change a QR code after printing?
By Prabhneet Singh Narula, founder of RelyQr · Updated
Short answer
Yes, if it's a dynamic QR code. A dynamic code holds a short link, and you can change where that link points at any time; the printed pattern stays the same and every scan goes to the new destination. A static QR code can't be changed after printing, because its content is stored in the pattern itself.
How editing a printed QR code works
The printed code never changes. What changes is where its short link sends people. When you update the destination in your account, the service that answers the short link starts forwarding scans to the new address, so every printed copy, on every poster, table and pack, opens the new page.
How to change a QR code's destination on RelyQr
- 1
Open the code
In the RelyQr web app at relyqr.com/app, open the code you printed.
- 2
Change the destination
Tap its destination and paste the new link, or edit the menu, PDF, form or page it opens.
- 3
Save
Every printed copy opens the new destination within a minute. The app shows when all your printed codes are up to date.
What you can change
- The web address a website code opens.
- Dishes, prices and photos on a menu, or the file behind a PDF code.
- Contact details on a dynamic vCard.
- Links on a link page, questions on a form, photos in a gallery.
- Rules like an expiry date, a scan limit or a password.
You can't change the type of a printed code, such as turning a menu into a Wi-Fi code, and you can't change a static code at all.
Can you edit a static QR code?
No. A static code's pattern is its content. If it points to a website you control, you can add a permanent (301) redirect from the old address to the new one, and printed codes follow it. Otherwise, make a dynamic code and reprint once; after that you can change it any time.
Before you print a dynamic code
- Check what happens to the code if you stop paying. RelyQr codes keep working on every plan; some providers deactivate them.
- Check whether editing is included on the plan you're on.
- Consider your own domain, so the short link never depends on someone else's.
Questions people also ask
Will my old prints still work after I change it?
Yes. Every printed copy of a dynamic code opens the new destination, because they all share the same short link.
How fast does a change take effect?
On RelyQr, within a minute for every printed copy.
Does changing a QR code cost anything?
Not on RelyQr: editing is included on every plan, and a free account includes 3 dynamic codes.
Can I change a QR code someone else made?
Only through the account that made it, because the short link belongs to that account.
Make a QR code that lasts forever
Free static codes with your logo and no watermark. Dynamic codes you can change after printing keep working on every plan.