diff --git a/externals/phpqrcode/phpqrcode.php b/externals/phpqrcode/phpqrcode.php
index 80adb9df23..54cde3ee9e 100644
--- a/externals/phpqrcode/phpqrcode.php
+++ b/externals/phpqrcode/phpqrcode.php
@@ -2937,7 +2937,7 @@
         //----------------------------------------------------------------------
         public function getCode()
         {
-            $ret;
+            $ret = null;
 
             if($this->count < $this->dataLength) {
                 $row = $this->count % $this->blocks;