Mic Not Working On Discord? Here’s The Fix

Do you talk but your microphone is not working on Discord? People can't hear you? Luckily, there's an easy fix for it and here it is.

At the very core of the Discord experience is the ability to communicate with various communities about a shared interest, or communicate with friends/teammates in-game.

When a microphone fails, this crucial feature falls to the wayside.

If you’ve been having this issue, here’s how to fix a mic not working in Discord. Keep reading to get back to chatting away in voice channels in no time.

Table of ContentsShow

Restart Windows and Discord

Before we dig into more complicated fixes, let’s try one of the best solutions available.

Simply close Discord, reboot your PC, and then open Discord again. Test to see if the microphone is working now.

Reset Voice Settings

Discord Not Picking Up Mic
  1. Load up Discord.
  2. Click on the cogwheel icon next to your profile name in the bottom left-hand corner to bring up the “User Settings” menu.
  3. Select “Voice & Video” under “App Settings” from the list on the left-hand side.
  4. Scroll down to the bottom and click on “Reset Voice Settings” that should be highlighted in red font.
  5. When prompted by the “Resetting voice settings will clear all local mutes and local volumes. Are you sure you want to do this?” message, click “Okay.”

Doing so refreshes the voice settings to their default, effectively giving you a clean slate to troubleshoot mic issues and, in most cases, fix the problem of a mic not working.

Logout Of The Discord App & Restart The PC

  1. Open Discord.
  2. Click on the cogwheel icon next to your profile name in the bottom left-hand corner to bring up the “User Settings” menu.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the list on the left-hand side and click on the red “Log Out” option.
Discord Mic Not Working
  1. When prompted by the “Are you sure you want to log out?” message, confirm by clicking “Log out.”
  2. Close the Discord app.
  3. Restart the PC.
  4. Once back in Windows, load up the Discord app and check to see if this has fixed your problems.

More often than not, this will resolve any temporary mic issues, but it’s a short-term fix for more deep-seated problems and works best alongside the other solutions covered in this guide.

Assign & Configure the Correct Input Device In Discord

  1. Load up Discord.
  2. Click on the cogwheel icon next to your profile name in the bottom left-hand corner to bring up the “User Settings” menu.
  3. Select “Voice & Video” under “App Settings” from the list on the left-hand side.
Mic Not Working On Discord
  1. Click on the “Input Device” drop-down and select your microphone/headset from the options that appear.
  2. Just below, make sure to set the “Input Volume” slider to the right up to 100%.
Mic Not Working In Discord
  1. Under “MIC TEST” below, click on “Let’s Check” and then speak into your microphone. The meter should activate as Discord picks up the sound of your voice. Adjust the Input Volume to a comfortable level.

Adjust Input Sensitivity

For this fix, we take a two-pronged approach and change settings in both Discord and Windows.

  1. Boot up Discord.
  2. Click on the cogwheel icon next to your profile name in the bottom left-hand corner to bring up the “User Settings” menu.
  3. Select “Voice & Video” under “App Settings” from the list on the left-hand side.
  4. Scroll down to “Input Sensitivity.” Toggle the “Automatically Determine Input Sensitivity” option either on or off based on where it was when first loading up User Settings.
  5. If toggled to on, speak into your mic and check that the meter is flashing green, which indicates Discord is correctly picking up audio.
Discord Push To Talk Not Working
  1. If toggled to off, make sure the slider is set sufficiently to the left towards the -100dB marker. Doing so allows Discord to pick even the faintest murmur from the microphone and transmit it to voice channels for others to hear.

Now, for the Windows fix.

  1. In the Windows taskbar, right-click on the speaker icon.
  2. Select “Recording Devices” from the drop-down menu that appears.
  3. Right-click on your microphone/headset, then click on the “Properties” button below.
Discord Won't Pick Up Mic
  1. In the “Microphone Properties” window that appears, choose the “Levels” tab.
  2. Slide the “Microphone” slider to the right up to 100.
  3. Return to Discord and test out to see if mic volumes have improved on the “Input Sensitivity” meter.
  4. Adjust the microphone volume in Windows as required.
  5. Click “Apply,” and then “Ok.”

Input Mode Settings

Discord Isn't Picking Up Mic

Discord is overall a pretty reliable application. However, like any piece of software, it is prone to its unique flavor of idiosyncrasies. Among these is a useful hack: Switching from the “Voice Activity” input mode to “Push to Talk” input mode to resolve microphone issues.

Similarly, switching from one then back again can solve problems as well. Try this as a quick fix.

Switch Off Microphone “Exclusive Mode” In Windows

Exclusive Mode is a feature in Windows that allows certain programs to take total control of specific microphones or other audio devices. Discord is notoriously at odds with this feature, resulting in erratic microphone problems. Here’s how to turn it off:

  1. Right-click on the speaker icon in the Windows taskbar.
  2. Choose “Recording Devices” from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click on your microphone among the options, then navigate down and click on the “Properties” button below.
  4. Click on the “Advanced” tab among the options that run along the top of the Microphone Properties window we’ve just opened.
Discord Test Mic
  1. Under “Exclusive Mode,” make sure both the “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” and “Give exclusive mode applications priority” options are unticked.
  2. Click “Apply,” then “Ok.”
  3. A PC restart also doesn’t hurt at this point.

Hardware Issues

The problem might not originate from a software glitch on Discord’s end and may be due to a faulty microphone instead. First and foremost, check if the mic/headset is connected to your PC properly, ensuring the audio jack is fully inserted into the PC. A slightly dislodged input can cause all manner of problems.

Secondly, test your microphone using another application (such as Windows Voice Recorder) or even another device by recording your voice (the Voice Memo app on any iPhone works).

Listen back to the audio, and if you pick up cutouts, distortion, accentuated noise, volume fluctuations, or don’t hear anything at all, the microphone might be broken, in which case you’ll need to look into fixing or replacing it.

Update Audio Drivers

  1. Right-click on the Windows Start menu.
Discord Not Detecting Mic
  1. Click on “Device Manager” from the drop-down menu that appears.
  2. Expand the “Sound, video and game controllers” option.
  3. Next, right-click on your sound device and select “Update driver” from the contextual menu that appears.
Discord Voice Not Working
  1. In the window that pops up, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software.”
Mic Doesn't Work On Discord
  1. Windows will search for the most up-to-date driver. Follow the instructions provided by the install wizard.

Alternatively, visit your audio device manufacturer’s website and head for the support section. Search for the latest drivers, then download and install them.

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Thomas Bardwell

The UK-based journalist and gamer, Thomas, describes himself as a man of few words with an unhealthy obsession for everything wonderful about the world of gaming. Thanks to his experience in the gaming industry, he brings a wealth of talent into GamingScan.

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