---
id: data-transfers.transfer-states-explained
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/transfer-states-explained
category: "Data Transfers"
subcategory: "Progress, pausing and history"
question: "What do the transfer states like Queued, Running and Failed mean?"
alt_questions:
  - "transfer status pills meaning"
  - "Preparing state data transfers"
  - "what does Canceled mean"
  - "status colours in Data Transfers"
  - "transfer state list"
short_answer: "Queued waits for a slot, Running is moving data, Paused was stopped by you, Waiting for drive needs your external drive, Needs space is a download paused for room, then Completed, Failed or Canceled."
tags: ["states", "status", "progress"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/what-does-waiting-for-drive-mean", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/what-does-needs-space-mean", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/a-transfer-failed-what-now", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/how-many-transfers-run-at-once"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What do the transfer states like Queued, Running and Failed mean?

Each transfer shows a coloured state:

- **Queued** — waiting for a free slot.
- **Preparing** — getting ready to start.
- **Running** — moving data now, with a progress bar.
- **Paused** — stopped by you; click Resume.
- **Waiting for drive** — needs your external drive, which isn't connected.
- **Needs space** — a large download paused because the disk is nearly full; nothing is lost.
- **Completed** — finished.
- **Failed** — stopped with a problem; the detail pane explains it.
- **Canceled** — stopped by you.

Related: [“Waiting for drive”](https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/what-does-waiting-for-drive-mean) · [“Needs space”](https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/what-does-needs-space-mean) · [A transfer failed](https://storagestudio.us/faq/data-transfers/a-transfer-failed-what-now)