My QR code isn't scanning — what's wrong?

A QR that scanned fine yesterday but stops working at the event is almost always something on the print side or a setting that flipped. Here's the fast troubleshooting order — you'll usually hit the answer before reaching the bottom.

1. Test it with at least two different phones

The quickest sanity check. If only one device fails to scan, it's a camera-app problem on that phone (some camera apps don't auto-detect QR codes — try the OS camera app, not a third-party one). If every device fails, the QR itself is the issue and the next steps narrow it down.

2. Check the print quality

QRs are surprisingly forgiving but they do have limits:

• Size: the QR's narrowest dimension needs to be at least about 1 inch / 2.5 cm at scan distance. Table cards are usually fine; a QR shrunk to fit a corner of a save-the-date often isn't.
• Contrast: dark modules on a light background. Light QR on a light card or coloured QR on a busy backdrop is a frequent culprit. See Changing the QR color for the contrast guidance.
• Sharpness: a blurry print or a low-resolution PNG resized up in Canva won't scan. Use the SVG download from the share card for any print job bigger than a table card — the vector source scales without losing crispness.

3. Make sure the gallery is live

A QR pointing at a draft gallery resolves to a "this event opens soon" page, not the upload flow. From the host dashboard:

• Status pill at the top of the gallery detail page reads Live once activated. If it reads Scheduled, the auto-activate window hasn't opened yet — you can flip it live manually from the same row.
• Allow guests to upload toggle (Settings on the detail page) is ON by default but a host adjusting other settings can accidentally flip it. Open the gallery, confirm the toggle, save.
• Upload cutoff — if you set a per-album or gallery-wide upload deadline, expired galleries serve the "uploads closed" state. Either extend the deadline or share the Magic Link with a note explaining the window has ended.

4. Use the QR code from your dashboard, not a screenshot

Every QR PixVenu hands you (PNG, SVG, the print-sign page) encodes the same magic-link URL. A photo of a QR from someone else's phone screen has compression artefacts that often break the scan. Pull a fresh copy from the gallery's share card.

5. Fall back to the Magic Link

If the QR is genuinely broken on event day — wrong colour, bad print run, missing card — share the Magic Link directly from the share card via text, WhatsApp, or email. Guests don't need to scan anything; tapping the link opens the gallery the same way a scan would.

Pro tip: scan your printed materials a week before the event

Print, then scan from the actual print, with your phone at the distance guests will scan from. Catches sizing + contrast issues while there's still time to reprint.

If you've worked the checklist and the QR still isn't scanning, get in touch from the Contact page — include the gallery name and we'll dig in.