Fix ‘Discord sound not working’ issue

In the past when people were taking interest in voice over internet protocol (VOIP) because of its features that allow gamers to communicate with each other while playing a game. Many other applications were doing the same thing like Skype and mumble, a new application that took communication to the other level and dominated over all other levels was the Discord app.

With time, discord has become the number 1 app in features and services that allows not only games to communicate during or after and before the game but also widely used by other people for business or other purposes. 

When it comes to discord there are several hardware compatibility issues that you have to fix to run your discord properly. The main issue that is encountered by several people is discord sound not working. In this article, we will explain to you the reason and some quick and easy steps to solve this issue.

The reasons behind Discord sound is not working

In addition to so many services and benefits, discord always comes with some issues. Several people have faced this and solved it by themselves. If you are new don’t worry, we will help you to get out of all this.

Before going to ways that may help in fixing this issue, the reason behind this issue cannot be ignored. The basic reasons for discord sound not working are:

• Your discord might not be working properly.
• You may have put the wrong outputting device
• Lastly, your audio output may have some issues in running.

Steps to fix Discord sound not working issue 

Here we are providing you all possible ways that may help you to get out of this issue. But before going too complex at first try some general and simple methods.

Check the discord server status 

Whenever you are facing some issue with discord in communication or connecting, check the discord server status. You can check this on various platforms and see what’s going on there.

If there are some outages it means your device is alright, there are some server issues after they got fix your device will start working normally.

If there is no such update, you can try some other ways to fix this.

Check your device audio settings

Sometimes your issue is solved by some simple steps, so always try to resolve the problem by using some general steps instead of looking for some complicated steps. You have to check the device audio setting if the discord sound is not working. For perfect usage of the Discord app on PC or Mac, you have to select the correct output usage and the volume level should be higher for windows than Mac.

Audio settings on window

If the volume level is low, you are unable to hear the stream. To check the audio settings of your window follow these steps:

1. From your PC screen, right click on the sound icon, and from its menu select “open sound settings”

2. After the opening of the menu, go to the Sound tab and select the “output device” (headphones or speakers) then check the volume level if it is low scroll it to the higher level.

3. You can check the individual volume for the opened apps, by right clicking sound icon and selecting “Open volume mixer”

4. Here, look for the discord app. After clicking this you can see the audio level, if the audio level is low you can press on the sound and take it to the maximum level.

Audio settings on Mac

You can also make desired changes in the volume on Mac in these ways:

• Turn on your Mac and select the Apple menu icon and then click on the “system output preferences”
• Here search for sound and then output, select your output source, and increase the sound level to a higher level.
• If the mute box is checked then uncheck this.

If the issue was due to an inappropriate audio setting, it will resolve but if all things are in the right place look for some other way.

Set discord as a default communication device 

This method is mostly overlooked, but this is one of the easy and perfect ways to resolve discord sound that is not working. While setting you may troubleshoot this in Windows and this problem arises. 

You can set discord as the default communication device by these simple steps:

• Search in the search bar on the PC and type open sound settings.
• Scroll down and click on “related settings”, after clicking this open “sound control panel”
• Find your output device from the list, click it and set it as the default communication device.
• Then click apply and then ok. After this restart of the discord app, your issue may get a fix.

If not, move onto the next step to fix this sound problem.

Check the hardware compatibility 

The Discord app has many issues regarding hardware compatibility. If your hardware is not capable of discord sound system then you may not hear any sound from the discord app. You can solve this issue simply by reversing the legacy audio subsystem. 

You can revert this subsystem by following this method:

1. First open the discord app and go to settings.

2. In the settings, find the voice and video tab, open it.

3. Scroll down and look for the audio subsystem, Change the audio subsystem from “Standard” to “legacy”.

4. By clicking legacy a message will pop up on your screen, click on and then restart your discord app.

This step will resolve all hardware compatibility issues and you can communicate again with your friends.

Keep your discord app update 

Discord releases a lot of updates in its software from time to time. You have to keep your app updated to keep it working all the time. If you are unaware and a new version is updated then you may have an issue in working the discord app. 

You can resolve this issue by updating your discord app, as it is easy and quick to install and download the latest version. If you are unable to find the update button, you can press ctrl and R by opening the discord app. This will update your discord to the latest version with all issues resolved. 

Add a required program to discord 

sometimes sound issues may arise when you are trying to share your screen. If the selected program is not added to your discord app then it may cause problems either in audio or video connectivity.

You can solve this issue during screen sharing by these quick and easy steps:

• Open the Discord app and the program you want to share.
• Click on the strings on the discord app, click the game activity and then add it to your discord app.
• Then open the program you want to share from the drop-down menu.
• Click on the add game and your sound and audio will be shared by the player you want to play.

If the problem continues, take courage and try some next few steps.

Update the latest version of the audio driver 

One of the main reasons behind your discord sound is not working is the outdated audio driver. You have to check for updates for your audio driver from time to time. If you do not have time or you may forget to check for updates you can go for a driver easily.

With driver easy, you don’t have to open the audio driver from time to time and look for updates, these updates are often time taking. Driver easily and automatically detects whenever any update is available, your audio driver will be installed automatically with the latest version. 

You can install the driver easily by these steps:

• Download and install any driver updater on your system.
• After installing, open the driver updater and click on the scan button. This will automatically detect any error in your computer and give you an option to update the outdated drivers.
• Here you can click on the update audio driver and add it to the drivers easily. You can also click on update all to install the latest version of every driver present on your PC.

Check for roaming data 

When there is too much roaming data in your discord app because of improper account settings and various temporary files this can lead to failure in audio connectivity. You can solve this by clearing discord from all roaming data.

• Close the discord app and click on the window logo key.
• A search tag will appear, type app data and click ok.
• Look for discord and delete it.
• Again open the discord app and check if the problem persists or not.

If the problem is resolved we are done, but if not try the next method.

Disable the antivirus in your device 

Sometimes, your antivirus may cause a problem in connectivity and proper working of the discord app. This is not confirmed but the possibility is always there. Instead of deleting the antivirus, disable the antivirus for some time and see if the sound still has an issue or not.

If the issue is resolved then delete the antivirus and install some other secure antivirus from some trusted source. If the issue is still present then move on with the last and final step.

Reinstall discord app

If you have tried all the above steps and nothing is working for solving discord sound is not working, then the possibility is that some damaged or corrupted files are present in the application. For this, you have to delete the discord app and reinstall it.

• Click on the search tag and type the control panel.
• Scrolling down, look for the category and click on uninstall a program.
• Click on discord and uninstall the application.
• After uninstalling, open the browser and download the discord app.
• Follow the on-screen notifications and reinstall the discord app on your device.

Final words 

In this article on discord sound is not working we have provided you various reasons and after that possible methods to solve them all. There are different steps from simple to complex ones, but for a proper setting, you have to start from simple steps and then move to some complex one.

Discord is the best app for communication for gamers, a gamer never compromises on anything that may hinder its performance during a game. To avoid all such issues you have to update your system whenever an update is available. If you cannot do it manually you can do this process automatically by installing the driver easily. 

We have done our part; with extensive research, we have mentioned all possible steps that can be performed to solve the issue. Now, it’s up to you what method you will adopt and if you follow all of them, hopefully, you will resolve the issue after completing 4 to 5 steps.

Tehseen Kiani

Tehseen started his blogging journey in 2018. He worked on many websites and blogs in recent years. Here, he shares products reviews and buying guides to help people take the right decision while purchasing different products.