Solution:
First, die and dump you request to make sure you are getting an input when the box is checked:
dd($request->all());
HTML checkboxes are a tricky beast. Basically, if they are checked, they will send a value in the request, otherwise, they will not. By default a checkbox sends the value of ‘on’ when checked though you can modify this to any value you like, like so:
<input type="checkbox" name="active" value="1"/>
Again, if they are not checked, it WILL NOT appear in your request.
In your controller, you may check if the box is checked/input exists by simply doing the following:
if(!$request->active) {
//code if unchecked
} else {
//code if checked
}
This executes specific code depending on if the checkbox is checked or not.