QR code generator — free codes that never expire

Do free QR codes expire?

No — a static QR code never expires. The grid of squares is your content, printed as a pattern: a scanner reads the image and gets the link or text directly. There is no server in the middle, so there is nothing that can be switched off. A static code made today will still scan in ten years, whether it lives on a business card, a poster or a jam jar.

The "expired QR code" horror stories come from dynamic trial codes. Several big generator sites give you a code that points at their redirect server, then disable it when the free trial ends — often after your menus have been printed. Every code from Carbide's QR code generator is static and stays yours; the only way it stops working is if the page you linked to goes offline. The QR codes guide covers the basics if you are starting from zero.

Create a QR code for a link, text or Wi-Fi in seconds

There is nothing to configure and no account wall. Here is the whole flow:

• Open the QR code generator and type or paste your content — a URL, a message, a phone number, anything.
• Or tap a preset: Link, Message or Wi-Fi fill the field with a ready-made template you edit in place.
• Watch the code render live as you type — there is no generate button to hunt for.
• Press Download to save it as an SVG — a vector image that stays razor sharp at any print size — or Share to open the code as a web page anyone can view.

Static vs dynamic QR codes — what the paid tools don't tell you

A static code stores your content in the image itself. A dynamic code stores only a short link to the provider's server, which then redirects to your real destination. That indirection is what lets paid tools offer edit-after-print and scan statistics — and it is also the leash: if your subscription lapses, the redirect is turned off and every printed code dies at once.

Dynamic codes are a fair product when you genuinely need to change the destination later or count scans per location. But most everyday codes — a menu, a Wi-Fi login, a link to your portfolio — never need editing, and paying monthly rent on a square of pixels makes no sense. For those, a free static code from the QR code generator does the same job permanently. Bare domains are even fixed up automatically (carbideapp.com becomes https://carbideapp.com), so the code opens correctly on every phone.

Wi-Fi QR codes: let guests join without typing a password

A Wi-Fi QR code encodes your network name, password and security type in the standard WIFI: format. When a guest points their phone camera at it, iOS and Android show a join-network prompt — no typing, no spelling out a 16-character password across the room. Tap the Wi-Fi preset in the QR code generator, replace the sample network name and password with your own, and print the code for the guest room, the café counter or the office reception.

One honest caveat: the password is stored inside the code as plain text, and anyone who scans it can read it. Put a Wi-Fi code where you would happily hand out the password anyway — it is a convenience, not a lock. For visitors, a separate guest network is still the right boundary.

Generated in your browser — no tracking, no account

The code is built on your device while you type. Your links, messages and Wi-Fi passwords are not sent to a server to be rendered — the page loads once and the generation happens locally, which is why there is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily quota. Close the tab and nothing about your code is left behind.

Static codes also protect the people who scan them. A dynamic code's redirect server logs every scan — time, rough location, device — before passing the visitor along; a static code goes straight to the destination with no middleman. One transparency note: the optional Share button publishes the code on a small Carbide web page so you can send it as a link. If you would rather keep everything local, use Download instead.

Test it, scan it back and go further

Before you print 500 flyers, scan your own code with a phone or two. The stock camera app reads QR codes on any recent iPhone or Android, and the Carbide app — coming soon — adds a proper QR scanner with an on-device scan history, alongside a barcode scanner and a document scanner; the scanner apps overview explains what each one does.

A few neighbours worth knowing: the mailto link generator builds a click-to-email link you can turn into a QR code for "email us" posters; the URL encoder fixes special characters in tricky links before you encode them; and when the text you need is trapped in a photo rather than a code, image to text extracts it — see the OCR walkthrough for the details.

Frequently asked questions