Switch QR code providers without reprinting: step by step with your own domain

Whether you can switch providers without reprinting comes down to one question: which domain do the short links inside your codes live on? If it is go.yourcompany.com/abc, an address you own, you can take the codes with you. If it is the provider's own address, you cannot. This guide covers the first case.

First, find out which case you are in

Scan a printed code and read the address before the page loads, or open the code in a QR reader that shows the content.

• The address ends in your domain, like go.yourcompany.com/abc: you can move without reprinting. Continue with step 1.
• The address is on the provider's domain, like qrco.de or l.ead.me: it cannot be taken over, because the provider owns that domain. You have two options. Either the bridge method (point the old provider's destination at the new page) or a reprint.

Step 1: Export all codes from the old provider

Most providers offer an export as CSV or Excel. Two details matter for every code: the complete old short link (go.yourcompany.com/abc) and the destination it currently forwards to. If there is no export, type the list out once. For a few dozen codes that is quick.

Step 2: Import the file

In Same-QR, open the “QR Codes” tab in the dashboard and choose the tile “Move from another provider”. Upload the CSV or XLSX file and map the column with the old short links to “Alter Kurzlink”. Each code's destination comes from the same file. For every old short link you get a new dynamic code that will later answer on the same address.

Step 3: Connect the domain

You need a plan that includes your own domain. The Free plan has none. In the “Own domain” window, enter your subdomain exactly as it appears on the printed material, for example qr.yourcompany.com. Only subdomains can be connected, never your main domain. The dashboard then shows two records:

• a TXT record “_sameqr.qr.yourcompany.com” with the value “sameqr-nachweis=…”. It proves that the domain is yours.
• a CNAME from your subdomain to “kunden.sameqr.com”.

Set the TXT record first. It does not disturb anything that is running. The CNAME replaces the current record that points to the old provider, and only that change moves the traffic.

Step 4: Switch the CNAME

In your domain's DNS, change the subdomain's CNAME from the old provider's address to kunden.sameqr.com. If you use Cloudflare for DNS, set the record to “DNS only” (grey cloud). Once both records are in place, the service issues an HTTPS certificate automatically and the status changes to “Active”. How long DNS changes take is covered in our article on that. Pick a quiet time for the switch, not the evening before a campaign.

Step 5: Test before you cancel anything

• Scan several printed codes, not just one, with an iPhone and an Android phone.
• Check that every code leads to the right destination and opens without a certificate warning.
• Look in the dashboard to see whether scans are counted.
• Test one device on mobile data. That shows whether an old DNS record is still cached.

Step 6: Cancel the old subscription last

As long as the CNAME still reaches the old provider, it keeps forwarding your codes. Cancel too early and codes on a cached DNS state hit a dead end. Wait until every test is clean, and export the scan statistics once more before cancelling if you want to keep them. The old provider's statistics do not move over. From the switch onwards, the new service counts.

New codes and the future

When you create new codes, you choose whether they live on sameqr.com/r/… or on your domain. You pick the path yourself, such as qr.yourcompany.com/menu, or a random one of 10 characters is assigned. A path can only be used once per domain and stays taken even if you delete the code. Your domain always stays yours. If you switch again later, you change the CNAME and the printed codes keep working, as long as the new provider can serve the same paths on your own domain.

Frequently asked questions