How do I tell whether my QR code is static or dynamic?
Updated September 14, 2026 · 2 min read
Open QR Codes in the sidebar and use the Static and Dynamic tabs — whichever tab your code appears under is its mode. Opening the code confirms it: a static one shows a card headed Static QR Code instead of analytics, while a dynamic one shows a redirect URL of the form qrcodestack.com/qr/… with a copy button. You can also just scan it and watch the address.
Check the list
- Click QR Codes in the sidebar.
- Above the list, click the Static tab, then the Dynamic tab.
- Your code appears under exactly one of them.
This is the fastest check when you have a handful of codes and want to know which ones you can still edit.
Check the code's own page
Click the code to open it.
- Static: the page shows a card headed Static QR Code — "the destination is permanently built into the QR pattern and cannot be changed or tracked after creation" — with three tiles: No Scan Analytics, Content is Fixed, Want Analytics?. There are no charts, because there is nothing to count.
- Dynamic: the page shows the redirect URL with a copy button, and scan analytics below — total scans, unique visitors, devices, browsers and countries.
Clicking Edit gives the same answer. A static code opens a single greyed-out Content step with the notice that content cannot be changed and only the name, tags and folder are editable.
Scan it and watch the address
Point a phone camera at the printed or downloaded code and read the preview your phone shows before you tap.
- A dynamic QRCodeStack code shows a
qrcodestack.com/qr/…address (or your own white-label domain, if you use one), then lands on the real destination. - A static code shows the content itself — the full destination URL, the phone number, the WiFi network, the raw text.
Codes made somewhere else
The same rule works for any QR code from any tool: decode it and look at what it contains. Raw content — a full destination URL, a vCard block, a WiFi string — means static. A short redirect on the generator's own domain means dynamic, and only the account that owns it can change where it points.
A short link is not automatically an editable code. A static code can encode a link shortener's URL, which makes the destination changeable in the shortener but leaves the QR code itself static, with no scan data in your account.
Frequently asked questions
My code has no analytics — does that mean it is static?
Usually yes. Static codes never produce scan data. A dynamic code with no data has simply not been scanned yet, or was scanned while the account was not active.
Can I change a code from static to dynamic?
No. The mode is fixed at creation. You create a new dynamic code and replace the artwork.
Does the QR pattern look different?
Usually. A dynamic code holds a short URL, so it tends to have fewer, larger squares than a static code carrying the same content in full.
Where do I see the redirect URL?
On the code's page, next to the copy button. Copying it is a quick way to test the destination in a browser without scanning.
Related articles
Static vs dynamic QR codes in QRCodeStack: which should I choose?
Dynamic encodes a redirect, so it can be edited and tracked. Static embeds the content in the pattern: no edits, no analytics, and it needs a paid plan.
Can I convert a static QR code to a dynamic one?
No. The Dynamic/Static choice is fixed at creation. Create a dynamic code, use it from your next print run, and leave the static one in place until then.
What happens when someone scans my QR code?
The camera opens qrcodestack.com/qr/…, we run a short list of checks, record the scan, then send the visitor on — or render a hosted page for display types.
Still stuck?
Email support@qrcodestack.com with the email on your account and, if it is about one code, its name or short link. A person replies within one business day, usually sooner.