# Why does my wallet pass barcode keep changing?

The barcode rotates on purpose, so that a screenshot of your pass cannot be reused by someone else. You do not need to do anything: open the pass and let staff scan the live screen. If a scan is refused, unlock your phone, open the pass fresh, and try once more.

Source: https://fidella.app/help/customers/wallet-pass-barcode-keeps-changing
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30

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Your pass shows a barcode that is different every time you look at it. That is
working as designed, and it is worth a minute to understand why.

## Why it rotates

A loyalty barcode that never changed would be a permanent key to your account.
Anyone who photographed your screen, or took a screenshot you later shared,
could keep using it indefinitely. Rotating the value means a captured barcode
stops working within minutes.

Google Wallet computes the rotating value on your device. Apple Wallet updates the pass in the background instead. That is why an Apple
pass you have not opened for a while may take a moment to catch up.

## What this means at the counter

Nothing, in the normal case. Open the pass, hold it up, and staff scan the live
screen. The only habit worth changing is the screenshot: if you have been saving
a picture of your pass to your camera roll, that will stop working.

## The six-character code

Every pass also shows a short code of six characters. That one does not rotate.
It exists so staff can find you manually when a camera will not cooperate, which
happens more often than you would think in a cafe at peak.