Early Dolce Gusto machines, such as the original Piccolo or the Creativa, relied on a manual lever or dial. The user had to look at the pod box, see a recommended water level (usually depicted as a number of bars), and manually move a lever to stop the water flow.
The QR code is not printed on the individual capsules. Instead, you can find it in the following locations: qr code dolce gusto
If your Dolce Gusto Neo isn't reading the code, follow these steps: Early Dolce Gusto machines, such as the original