diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
index caf929f2a6..505b53e2f9 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
         () =>
           ({
             body: {
-              state: 'failed',
+              state: 'failure',
             },
           } as any)
       );
@@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
                 {
                   id: 23950195,
                   status: 'completed',
-                  conclusion: 'failed',
+                  conclusion: 'failure',
                   name: 'Travis CI - Branch',
                 },
               ],
@@ -796,7 +796,7 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
               },
               {
                 context: 'context-3',
-                state: 'failed',
+                state: 'failure',
               },
             ],
           } as any)
@@ -825,7 +825,7 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
               },
               {
                 context: 'context-3',
-                state: 'failed',
+                state: 'error',
               },
             ],
           } as any)
diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.ts b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
index c408d5c1e1..1fef0446d7 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
@@ -1057,11 +1057,13 @@ export async function getBranchPr(branchName: string): Promise<Pr | null> {
   return existingPr ? getPr(existingPr.number) : null;
 }
 
+// https://developer.github.com/v3/repos/statuses
+// https://developer.github.com/v3/checks/runs/
 type BranchState = 'failure' | 'pending' | 'success';
 
 interface GhBranchStatus {
   context: string;
-  state: BranchState;
+  state: BranchState | 'error';
 }
 
 interface CombinedBranchStatus {
@@ -1156,14 +1158,14 @@ export async function getBranchStatus(
     if (commitStatus.state === 'success') {
       return BranchStatus.green;
     }
-    if (commitStatus.state === 'failed') {
+    if (commitStatus.state === 'failure') {
       return BranchStatus.red;
     }
     return BranchStatus.yellow;
   }
   if (
-    commitStatus.state === 'failed' ||
-    checkRuns.some(run => run.conclusion === 'failed')
+    commitStatus.state === 'failure' ||
+    checkRuns.some(run => run.conclusion === 'failure')
   ) {
     return BranchStatus.red;
   }
@@ -1189,7 +1191,8 @@ async function getStatusCheck(
 
 const githubToRenovateStatusMapping = {
   success: BranchStatus.green,
-  failed: BranchStatus.red,
+  error: BranchStatus.red,
+  failure: BranchStatus.red,
   pending: BranchStatus.yellow,
 };