Need admin access shows incorrect

Question

Hi all,

We used to pay for JIRA, now we are temp using the FREE plan untill we have separated into multiple accounts (as we plan to decentralize our company if that makes sense, sorry non native english speaker here).

Challange or bug: we cannot approve any new requests for users to join a specific space.

JIRA AI says: oh just start a FREE TRIAL and downgrade after until you decentralize and get new paid subscriptions.

However, JIRA keeps showing me all the time "Need admin access" but I am an admin. I check with other admins, they also cannot approve new requests. The only option shows "add roles" but it's all greyed our as we need to upgrade.

Any of you recognize this?

Gabriela - LeanZero · Answer

You can add them. Free caps the site at 10 users and inviting people runs through user management, so that part still works normally. What froze is the role assignment.

Depends on the space, though. Team-managed: Space settings, then Access. With the access level on Open, everyone on your Jira site already holds the Member role, so the invite is the whole job. Company-managed: the preserved scheme decides, and what matters is who holds the browse permission. A group, or anyone with Jira access, and adding the two of them is enough, since group membership stayed editable. A space role, and you are genuinely stuck. That is what the greyed out add roles is telling you.

If you take the trial, spend it on the grant rather than on the two people. Point that permission at a group, or move the space onto the default scheme, then downgrade. It freezes in the new shape and you will not need the upgrade again. Standard runs 14 days from Free, and coming back down needs you at 10 users or fewer.

Or a brand new space, created without copying another space's configuration. Those come up on the default permissions, which may suit the splitting up you are planning anyway.

Dion Duimel · Answer

Thanks Gabriela!

But this sounds like I cannot add any other user to my accounts when I am on FREE plan?

I just want to add 2 new members to the team, I don’t care about the role.

Do I still miss something? It’s a bit confusing (not what you explained) but just adding someone to a space…

Gabriela - LeanZero · Answer

Hi @Dion Duimel, not a bug and not your account. Free Jira can't assign space roles, and approving a join request is a role grant, which is why add roles sits greyed out behind an upgrade prompt for you and for the other admins too.

Coming down from paid is what makes it bite. Atlassian's page says schemes and space roles carry over from the paid plan but can't be edited, and says upgrading is what unlocks editing them again. Sites that started on Free never meet this. There, everyone with Jira access is admin of every space.

If you do take the trial, batch all the access grants while it's running. The doc says space roles are preserved on the way back down, though I would check one account afterwards before trusting it kept the members too.

Permissions limitations in Free Jira sites