Discord Mic Not Working

A Discord mic not working usually comes down to one of four things: the wrong input device, Push to Talk left on, an input sensitivity line set above your voice, or Windows blocking desktop apps from the mic. All four are quick to check in Discord's Voice & Video settings. To see where your voice sits against Discord's sensitivity threshold without joining a call, use the discord mic test, which shows how much of your speech a given setting would cut. If no app at all can hear your mic, the fault is outside Discord, so start with mic not working instead.

Quick checks

• Mute and deafen. Look at the mic and headphone icons next to your name at the bottom left. A red slash means muted, and deafen mutes your mic too.
• Server mute. A red mic icon next to your name in the channel's member list means a moderator muted you. Only they can undo it.
• Restart Discord fully. Closing the window leaves it running. Right-click the Discord icon in the taskbar tray and choose Quit Discord, then open it again. Ctrl + R reloads it faster.
• Plug the mic in first. Connect the headset or USB mic, then start Discord, so it appears in the device list.

Pick your mic in Discord

1. Select the cog next to your name to open User Settings, then Voice & Video.
2. On the Voice tab, open Input Device and choose your mic by name. Default follows Windows and can jump to another mic when you plug something in.
3. Raise Input Volume if it was pulled down.
4. Under Mic Test, select Let's Check and speak. The bar should move and you should hear yourself.

If the bar stays flat in Discord but moves in the mic test, Windows hears the mic and Discord does not. Pick the device by name again, then try the audio subsystem fix further down.

Push to Talk, Voice Activity and sensitivity

Input Mode decides when Discord sends your voice. With Push to Talk, nothing goes out unless you hold the key, so check the key under Keybinds. With Voice Activity, Discord sends sound only when it rises above the input sensitivity line.

• Automatically determine input sensitivity works for most people. If the start and end of your words get cut, turn it off and drag the slider left until your quietest words still light the bar.
• If background noise keeps opening your mic, drag the line right, or switch to Push to Talk.
• Newer versions group these under Input Profile. Voice Isolation and Studio set the processing for you. Choose Custom to set Input Mode, sensitivity, noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain yourself.

In a voice channel, a green ring around your avatar lights up whenever Discord sends your voice. That ring is the quickest way to tell a Discord setting from a problem at the other end.

The mic test works but nobody hears you

Work down this list while a friend stays in the channel:

1. Push to Talk. It is on and you are not holding the key, or the key stopped working because a game runs as administrator. Run Discord as administrator too, or rebind the key.
2. Sensitivity. Your green ring never lights. Lower the threshold as above.
3. Server permissions. Some channels remove the Speak permission, and some remove Use Voice Activity, which forces Push to Talk. Ask a moderator, or test in a server you own.
4. The listener's side. Discord lets each person set your volume or mute you locally. Ask your friend to right-click your name and check User Volume and Mute.
5. A different device in the call. If you plugged in a headset after joining, Discord may still use the old mic. Leave and rejoin the channel.
6. Windows privacy. Discord is a desktop app, so Let desktop apps access your microphone must be on under Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone. In Windows 10, it is Allow desktop apps to access your microphone under Settings, Privacy, Microphone.

Krisp, echo cancellation and automatic gain

These filters clean up your voice, but each can also swallow it.

• Noise Suppression offers Krisp, Standard and None. Krisp can cut soft speech along with the noise. Discord also switches Krisp off by itself when your CPU is very busy, so background noise that suddenly returns mid-game is usually that, not a new fault.
• Echo Cancellation removes your friends' voices from your mic when you use speakers, and while they talk it can clip your words too.
• Automatic Gain Control raises and lowers your level and can make you pump or fade.

To find the culprit, turn all three off, check your voice, then turn them back on one at a time. The headset mic test is useful here too: if your headset mic is already noisy or clipping before Discord touches it, no filter setting will fix it.

Switch the audio subsystem or reset voice settings

On Windows, Discord has two ways of talking to your sound hardware. In Voice & Video, scroll down to Audio Subsystem and switch between Standard and Legacy. Confirm the change, and restart Discord if it does not restart by itself. Legacy fixes many USB and gaming headsets that Discord fails to detect or that go silent in calls.

If settings are tangled, open the Debugging tab in Voice & Video and select Reset Voice and Video Settings, then set your input device again.

Two Windows settings also break Discord:

• Exclusive mode. If another app takes over the mic, Discord loses it. In the classic Sound window, open the mic's Properties, Advanced tab, and untick Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
• Administrator rights. Right-click the Discord shortcut and choose Run as administrator when you play games that run elevated.

Reinstalling Discord from its official site is the last step, after the reset.

Discord in a web browser

In Chrome or Edge, select View site information at the left of the address bar and turn on the microphone for Discord. In a browser, Push to Talk only works while the Discord tab is focused, so it stops the moment you click into a game. Use the desktop app for gaming.

Discord mic not working on a phone or tablet

iPhone and iPad. Open the iOS Settings app, scroll to Discord and turn on Microphone. In Discord, tap your avatar, then the cog, then Voice, and check Input Mode and sensitivity. Discord suggests trying Integrate calls with the Phone app under Notifications if your voice drops when the screen locks.

Android. Open Settings, Apps, Discord, Permissions, Microphone, and allow it. Battery saver modes can cut background audio, so turn battery saver off while in a call. Also check the Quick Settings microphone tile is not blocking every app.

On both, a connected Bluetooth earbud takes over as the mic. Disconnect it to test the phone's own mic.

Discord on Xbox and PS5

Xbox

Discord's own FAQ lists what voice on Xbox needs: your Discord and Xbox accounts linked, the console fully updated, and the Xbox app on your phone if you transfer calls. You can also join directly: open the guide, go to Parties & chats, select Discord Voice, then the server and channel. If no one hears you:

• Leave any Xbox party chat. You cannot be in a party and Discord voice at the same time.
• In the Xbox app's privacy settings, allow cross-network play and set communication outside Xbox to Everybody. Child accounts need a parent to allow it.
• Check the headset's mute switch and push the plug fully into the controller's 3.5 mm jack.
• If you linked accounts long ago, unlink and link them again, as Discord recommends.

PS5

Link your Discord account on the PS5, then join from Game Base, Discord tab, or choose to join on PlayStation from the Discord app. If no one hears you:

• A short press of the DualSense mute button mutes the mic, and the button lights orange. Press it again.
• Press the PS button, select Mic, and check Input Device and Adjust Microphone Level.
• Leave any PlayStation party first. You cannot use both at once.
• Update the PS5 system software, which Discord voice requires.

Sony's guide to Discord voice chat on PS5 covers linking and joining step by step.

When it is a hardware fault

If your mic also fails in the mic test and in other apps, Discord is not the problem. A headset mic that cuts out when you move the cable or the boom has a broken wire, and a console headset that only works in one controller points to that controller's jack. Try the headset on another device before you buy a new one, and check its warranty on the maker's site.

If everything works outside Discord and every fix above fails, quit Discord, reinstall it, and contact Discord support with the steps you tried. For robotic or choppy audio, the cause is your connection: plug in a network cable and turn off Quality of Service High Packet Priority. If your Bluetooth headset keeps dropping, see bluetooth not working.

Discord mic questions