Can’t Update Story Status in Jira? Here’s Why and How to Fix It

Updating Jira issue statuses is generally straightforward and intuitive—simply drag and drop tickets from one status board to another. Or, to add new status columns, you can conveniently use the “+” button from the top right of your project board and then stack issues accordingly.

However, you may occasionally face trouble while transitioning issue statuses, editing status names, or setting up custom statuses for your project board. For instance, sometimes, newly added statuses may not be visible when attempting to change an issue’s status.

In this article, we’ve covered common problems you might face while working with Jira issue statuses, explaining why they occur and practical solutions for quick fixes. Also, we’ve included step-by-step instructions for adding, updating, and editing Jira statuses. Let’s dive in!

Issue statuses in Jira are labels that indicate the current state of an issue within a project workflow. Statuses help you understand where work items (such as tasks, stories, or bugs) are in the project lifecycle, provide clarity on task progress, and identify bottlenecks in the workflow, if any.

Default Jira project statuses include:

• TO DO: The issue is identified but has yet to be started.
• IN PROGRESS: Work is actively being done on the issue.
• DONE: The issue has been completed.

Each status denotes a specific stage in a workflow, which can be customized based on the project's needs. You can even customize the default statuses.

Also Read: What are Issue Types in Jira?

Here’s a list of common issues that you might face while working with Jira statuses with possible explanations and practical solutions for each. 

Issue 1: Can’t Update Story Status in Jira

Here are some ways to troubleshoot:

• Check that you have the necessary permissions to change the status of the issue. Sometimes, you may need to be assigned to the issue or have specific roles to make status changes.
• Review the workflow associated with the story. Some workflows may restrict transitions from certain statuses. In such cases, please contact the person with admin access.
• Make sure that the transition from the current status to the one that you’re trying to set is available in the workflow. If it’s not visible, please check with the admin to ensure that it’s added.

Issue 2: Not Able to Change the Status of Some Issues

To resolve this:

• Check if any conditions prevent changing the status for certain issues. For example, an issue might be locked until all subtasks are completed.
• Check that your user role has permission to change statuses for those specific issues.

Issue 3: The Issue State is Not Updated After it is Transitioned

You can consider the following to troubleshoot:

• Post functions in Jira run automated actions after an issue transitions to a new status. Verify if there are any post functions associated with the transition that should update the state but aren’t executing correctly.
• Check if any automation rules might be interfering with status updates after transitions occur.
• Review audit logs to get insights into what happened during the transition process and look for any errors that may have occurred.

Also Read: Automating Jira: How to Create Smart Workflows 

Issue 4: Can’t Change the Issue Status When Editing it

If you're unable to change an issue's status while editing it, try the following:

• Make sure that the status field is included in the edit screen configuration for that issue type.
• Confirm whether your user role has permission to edit that specific field.
• Check if there are any restrictions placed on editing statuses during specific phases of an issue's lifecycle.

Also Read: Can’t Add MP4 to Jira Attachments? Here’s How to Fix It

If you’re using Jira for bug reporting and tracking, BetterBugs can speed up the process. BetterBugs enables you to create issues directly from your Chrome browser with visual proofs and dev logs. You can connect BetterBugs with Jira and share the complete report with your Jira workplace. Here's how it simplifies sharing issues:

• Visual Proofs for Maximum Context: You can capture screenshots and videos, or get instant rewind sessions to capture an issue that just happened. You can also include attachments, create markups, and add comments to make a complete bug report.
• Instant Bug Reports with DevTools Info, plus AI for Debugging: BetterBugs enables you to create instant, editable bug reports without missing details. You also get auto-attached developer logs, network requests, system information, and a wealth of technical info to help your developers debug faster themselves or use the integrated AI debugger.
• Seamless Jira Integration and Quick Sharing: BetterBugs instantly connects with your Jira project. You can fill in the details using a template fetched directly from Jira, and send the report instantly as a backlog item with all necessary information and a link to the full bug report.

Here are the stepwise instructions for working with statuses in Jira.

Step 1: How to Add Status for Jira Issues

Adding status (as a custom workflow step) for Jira issues is pretty straightforward. Note that you can tweak add, edit, or delete statuses in team-managed projects following the steps shown below. Also, you require admin-level permissions to make any changes.

As mentioned, you have the “TODO”, “IN PROGRESS” and “DONE” as default statuses in an active sprint board. To add a new status column for the issues,  

   1. Click three dots (• • •) from the top right side of your project Board screen.

   2. Click on the “Configure board” option from the dropdown. 

   3. This directly opens the Boards > Columns and statuses screen. Next, click “Manage workflow” from the center.

   4. Click “Edit workflow” from the bottom right. 

   5. Click the “+” To-do status from the top.

   6. Enter the status name (e.g., "PLANNED", “ESTIMATED”, “CLOSED”, “TESTING”) and press the “+ Create” button shown with the specified name. 

Let’s set TESTING as the new status.

   7. Click “Add”.

   8. The new status instantly adds to your workflow. Now, click the “Update workflow” blue button from the top right.

   9. From the “Save workflow for selected issue types” modal window, click “Save”. This adds the status for all the selected issue types as listed.

The new status you just set is ready for use.

Step 2: How to Update the Status of a Story

To update the status of a story (or any other issue type), you can drag and drop an issue from one status column to another. 

Alternatively, you can do it manually from the ticket details window. Here’s how.

1. Open a story you wish to update the status.
2. Open the “To Do” dropdown from the top right.
3. Set the new status for it. (e.g., TESTING)

It’s done. The issue gets stacked to the selected status column.

Step 3: How to Edit Status in Jira

To edit an existing status,

   1. Click three dots (• • •) from the top right of the Board screen.

   2. Click “Manage workflow”.

   3. Click on a status you wish to edit (e.g., IN PROGRESS). 

   4. Now, edit the name (e.g., IN PROGRESS ➡ WORK IN PROGRESS”) from the right-hand side of your screen and click ✔.

   5. Click “Update workflow”.

   6. Hit “Save” from the “save workflow for selected issue types” window.

Now, go back to your project and try it out. It should work fine allowing you to assign the new status for your issues.