You scanned the same QR code twice by accident, and your phone popped up the confirmation twice. You may worry that the first old session is still hanging around, might conflict with the second one, or even cause problems later when signing transactions. Here is the short answer: the old session is automatically invalidated, but only if your second scan successfully completes the connection.
A leading global cryptocurrency platform,suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.
New user benefit: 20% off trading fees upon registration!！
This is directly related to how WalletConnect is designed. The official documentation clearly states: "Pairing with existing pairing is not allowed" — you cannot use the same pairing token to establish a connection twice. So when you scan the second time, the wallet backend detects that the pairing token tied to that QR code has already been used, and it will return an error instead of allowing you to create a second parallel connection.
But there is a key condition for "automatic invalidation" here: if the first scan failed to connect, for example due to a network timeout or wrong chain selection, and the second scan successfully creates a new session, then the incomplete pairing left over from the first attempt will be overwritten. You do not need to manually delete anything.
If your first scan actually connected successfully, meaning the page already showed your address, and you simply scanned again without noticing, then the wallet will reject the second attempt. You do not need to do anything, and the first session remains valid.
Key Scenarios and Correct Actions
Case A: The first scan never connected at all, for example the page kept spinning or showed an error.
In this case, do not hesitate. Simply scan again. The failed pairing from the first attempt will automatically expire after 5 minutes, but to make the process smoother, it is recommended that you first manually remove the pending connection entry for this DApp from your mobile wallet.
How to do it:
- Fully clear the stuck pairing request
- Open your mobile wallet, such as Trust Wallet or MetaMask, find the "Connected Sites" or "WalletConnect Sessions" list, and delete the entry related to this DApp by swiping left or long-pressing
- Completion standard: there is no entry for this DApp in the wallet's connected sites list
After cleaning up, go back to the DApp page on your computer and refresh the QR code by clicking the page's built-in refresh button, not the browser's page refresh. This generates a new pairing token, and then you can scan it. The old token is invalidated, and the new token establishes a new connection.
Case B: The first scan already connected successfully, meaning the page displayed your address.
Do not scan a second time. The wallet will reject duplicate pairing, so scanning again will not help.
If you find multiple sessions for the same DApp hanging around in your wallet, even if the current connection works, it is still recommended to go into your wallet settings and manually clean up the old ones. Some wallets have soft limits on the number of sessions per DApp, and having too many stored sessions may cause strange issues the next time you try to connect.
Case C: The first scan failed to connect, and you scanned the same code a second time but still got an error.
The wallet may show an error like "Pairing already exists" or something similar. This means the first pairing token was already occupied by the system even though the connection was not completed. Scanning the same code again will not work.
What to do: Go back to the process in Case A — close the QR code popup, clean up the session in your wallet, click "Refresh QR Code" on the page to generate a new code, and then scan it.
A leading global cryptocurrency platform,suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.
New user benefit: 20% off trading fees upon registration!！
Related Situations: When Do You Need to Manually Clean Up Old Sessions?
- The QR code countdown reaches zero and shows "Pairing expired" → Just refresh the QR code. No cleanup is needed.
- You switched to a new phone and scanned again → The session on the old phone must be disconnected first, otherwise the new phone may fail to take over the connection.
- You want to switch wallets, for example from MetaMask to Trust Wallet → You must first click "Disconnect" on the DApp page, then clean up the session in your wallet, and finally scan with the new wallet.
Risk reminder: Never scan a QR code that someone else sent you as a screenshot. Every QR code is time-sensitive, and the 5-minute countdown is only one reason. More importantly, you cannot confirm whether the QR code actually points to a phishing website. Only scan the QR code that is currently generated live on the DApp page.
How to verify the operation is complete: When the connection confirmation pops up on your phone, tap "Connect." Your wallet address, starting with 0x, should appear in the top right corner of the DApp page. If the address appears but some features on the page are still grayed out, wait 3-5 seconds and refresh the page — there is no need to scan the QR code again.
