Discord Lagging: 8 Fixes to Stop Discord From Being Slow

April 16, 2026 By Michael S. Davis No Comments 8 minutes

With over 150 million monthly active users, Discord is a popular platform for gamers to interact online. Its chat rooms and other gamer-centered services may make it look heaven-dropped until constant Discord lagging makes you want to uninstall it. However, we’ve got 8 quick fixes for it. This guide will walk you through the common issues, such as Discord being slow, its mic and audio not working, and much more.

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Why Is Discord Lagging?

Discord is popular for its gamer-centered features, ensuring a seamless user experience. However, it lagging can often make you want to delete your Discord account. But before doing that, it might be slow due to various reasons, such as:

• Unstable internet connection
• Server location
• Number of people in the room

With that said, this guide will cover the common reasons of Discord lagging and the troubleshooting tips for it. Keep reading to find out all.

Why Is Discord So Laggy? 8 Common Reasons and Troubleshooting Tips

According to Statista, in January 2023, Discord had an estimated 563 million registered users, reflecting an increase of over 87% from the 300 million users reported in June 2020. And, this increase portrays the ease of use it offers to its users. However, various users report discord lagging when playing games. But, we’ve got quick fixes for the common Discord-related issues:

1. Discord Audio Not Working

Tired of shouting at the top of your lungs, and your friend can’t still hear you? It’s probably not your fault; blame Discord. Here’s how to troubleshoot “Discord audio not working.”

Note: If an admin or server owner has mutated or deafened you, you’ll need to contact them to restore your audio.

• Look for a slash over the mic or headset icon to check if you or another user is muted or deafened.
• If this issue only happens on a specific server/channel, contact the admin for channel permissions.
• You may have adjusted their volume settings if you can’t hear a specific user in a server or direct call. To do this, right-click the user’s icon and use the slider to adjust the user’s volume.
• If using the Discord mobile app, tap the member’s icon (top right) in a voice channel or call. Select the user and adjust the Volume Settings using the slider.

2. Discord Mic Not Working

Is your Mic working everywhere but not Discord? It might be due to a change in the Settings or you might be muted in a specific channel. However, if you see your mic not working in any channel, here are the troubleshooting steps:

First, check if Discord has permission to access your microphone on your device. Following that, verify if it that all audio-related options are enabled:

• Open the Start Menu, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone, and ensure Discord is enabled.
• Verify that all audio-related options are enabled in Discord settings.
• Restart the Discord app and see if the issue continues.

3. Discord Overlay Not Working

It can ne any social media app, not seeing the overlay significantly disrupts the user experience. However, if the Discord overlay is not working, here are the steps to resolve it:

• Open Discord settings, go to Game Overlay, and ensure it is enabled.
• Under Game Activity, check that your game is listed and shows Overlay: ON. If not, enable it.
• In Appearance settings, make sure hardware acceleration is turned off. If it’s on, then turn it off.
• Some games require windowed fullscreen mode for the overlay to function properly. Turn the fullscreen mode on.
• Update Discord to the latest version.
• If nothing works, then try running Discord as an administrator.

4. Discord Won’t Open on Windows 10

Discord might not be opening on Windows 10 due to various reasons. Here are the troubleshooting steps for it:

• Check if there’s a game running on your device in the background. If yes, it might be clashing with the Discord. For this, close the other game running in the background and relaunch Discord.
• There might be damaged or missing files that might interrupt Discord from opening on your PC. Check for these files by going to Command Prompt, type “sfc/scannow”. This will run a scan and attempt to repair them if they’re there. Once done, try relaunching Discord.
• There might be another program blocking Discord. You can fix it by. Go to Windows Security > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & Threat Protection > Manage Settings. Scroll down and select Add or remove exclusions > Add an exclusion and select the Folder. Select Discord.

5. Discord Keeps Crashing

Discord can often crash due to an expired version, uncleared cache and others. Here are the troubleshooting steps for Discord crashing:

• Ensure you’ve got the latest version of Discord. Go to the official application store to check for any updates.
• Clear cache to avoid Discord lagging and crashing. Go to Discord Settings and clear the app’s cache.
• Disable the Discord hardware acceleration via the app. Go to the Discord Settings and disable Hardware acceleration.
• Check for any updates of the graphics card drivers and install them if available.
• If you’re using any beta versions on Discord, then disable them.
• If none of these work, uninstall and reinstall Discord from its official website.

6. Discord Lagging When Playing Games

Is Discord lagging when playing games? It’s mostly due to a poor Internet connection, too many background applications running or an outdated Discord version installed on your device. Here are the best troubleshooting tips for Discord lagging:

• Ensure a stable internet connection. Check the speed via an online speed tester and ensure it’s stable. If it’s slow, try using a wired connection for improved speed.
• Close any unnecessary programs running in the background. Only enable the essential ones.
• Check the Discord server you’re connected to. Connect to a nearby server for improved stability.
• Check the CPU and RAM usage when gaming to check if your system is overloaded. Try increasing the RAM to avoid Discord lags while gaming.

7. Discord Blank Screen

Discord might give a blank screen, but that’s fixable. Here are the steps to fix Discord’s blank screen:

• Go to task manager > process tab > end the Discord.exe.
• Look for Discord updates, or enable automatic Discord updates to remain up-to-date.
• Refresh Discord by pressing Ctrl + R.
• If you’re using the app, switch to its website and log in to your account from there.
• Go to Discordstatus.com to check the platform’s current status.

8. Discord Stuck on Starting

Is your Discord stuck on starting, and all you get to see is the main screen only? Here’s how to troubleshoot it:

• Enable the firewall settings to allow Discord to connect.
• Close Discord and relaunch it.
• Ensure all proxies are disabled: Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Internet Options > LAN settings > Uncheck “use a proxy.”

How to Avoid Discord Being Slow

Discord is popular for its seamlessness and ease of use. However, there can be instances of Discord lagging that you can resolve.

Check for Discord Updates

Developers release application updates to fix bugs and patch other underlying issues. For that, ensure that Discord is updated to the latest version.

Clear the Cache

It’s often the cache that leads to discord lagging when playing games. Go to the Discord app’s settings and choose Clear Cache.

Update Graphic Drivers

Outdated graphic drivers can often cause discord to be slow. To avoid this, ensure updating the graphic drivers for seamless app performance.

Manage Background Apps

Close the background apps that you aren’t actively using to avoid Discord being slow because frequent interruptions can cause Discord lagging.

Restart the Device

If none of the above-mentioned steps work, try restarting your computer and router. If this also doesn’t work, check the Discord status to ensure the app is working.

FAQs – Discord Lagging

Final Note

Discord is a holy-grail option for most gaming enthusiasts–until it starts lagging. But, you can troubleshoot a laggy Discord by connecting to stable internet connection, clearing the cache and updating Discord. Simply put, implementing the above-mentioned troubleshooting tips can be your saviour. However, if it’s your data privacy that concerns you–FastestVPN’s got your back!

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