Why Can’t I Hear People on Discord?

And now that Discord welcomes everyone and not only to once were gaming communities, there also shouldn’t be room for this kind of error. Reasonably so, it is not a perfect app at all times, and problems arise from time to time, including technical issues regarding audio.

So if you are experiencing interruptions in your audio quality on Discord, you have come to the right place. Whether it’s internal or external factors, we have listed everything you need to know and the practical solutions that are available.

Discord’s voice and video communication features are the most reliable, if not the best, among other social apps. It offers users a variety of options to customize or personalize the experience of each user that is using the app’s services.

However, not being able to hear anyone on the Discord app can stem from various reasons.

• Improper audio settings

  The default audio settings can still be unreliable whether you use external hardware or your device’s speaker system. This still needs to be configured on your own for the system to correct it.

• Outdated Discord app

  It could be that app bugs are causing audio communication errors on your end. You are missing out on improvements in audio if your Discord app is not the latest version.

• Audio device not used as a default communication device

  Your device that automatically enables any communication device you plug in as default may not function. This could also be a sign of incompatibility issues if your audio device is faulty.

Methods such as looking into the sound control panel, in-app’s voice settings, server settings, your hardware devices, and more are just some of the ways to fix can’t hear anyone on Discord. There are various to get around this and below are the ways to troubleshoot every known reason stated above.

Set Your Device as Default Communication Device

Say your device speakers are broken. Having a backup external audio hardware such as headphones, earphones, buds, or speakers can help you deal with the audio problems you are experiencing. But first, these devices must be recognized as the default communication device to function as your audio transmitter fully.

Usually, Windows can detect these devices and automatically makes an audio pass through them. However, there are also instances where it won’t do so and needs your manual work. You can solve Discord audio issues outside the app by dealing with this.

1. STEP 1

   

   Open sound settings by right-clicking the speaker icon on the Windows taskbar and selecting “Sounds.” The shortcut to this is to run the dialog box by pressing the Windows + R keys at the same time > type “mmsys.cpl” > OK.

2. STEP 2

   

   Once the sound settings window pops up, select the “Playback” tab.

3. STEP 3

   

   Right-click one thing from the list of available playback devices (plugged externals such as earphones/headphones, and non-plugged such as in-device speakers), then click “Set as Default Device” or “Set Default Communication Device.”

4. STEP 4

   You will notice that there is a “Default device” label under the hardware name. That’s a sign that you successfully set the device as default.

5. STEP 5

   Proceed to click “Apply” then “OK.”

6. STEP 6

   Restart Discord.

If you can’t see the device you are using, do the following to select the default communication device:

1. STEP 1

   

   On the same “Playback” tab on Sounds settings, right-click anywhere on the window and check if “Select Disabled devices” or “Select Disconnected Devices” are marked check.

2. STEP 2

   

   If not, click each row of settings to enable. The setting window will refresh and show you all the audio devices you can choose.

Note: If you already set default audio devices and yet no audio is still coming out, you might want to check your external audio hardware ITSELF. Most of them have knobs or sliders for volume adjustments and might have been set to zero or low volume.

Select the Right Audio Device for Input and Output

If your Microsoft windows sound setting is settled or already at the proper orientation, you can try exploring similar settings in the Discord app. This means you can also set yourself what the app should recognize as your preferred audio device.

1. STEP 1

   

   Access the Discord app and go to user settings by clicking the gear icon located beside your profile information.

2. STEP 2

   

   Under the “App Settings” category, select “Voice and Video.”

3. STEP 3

   

   Under the “Voice settings,” click the drop-down button of the “Input Device” or “Output Device” section. You would then see the list of input and output devices you can choose as default.

4. STEP 4

   After selecting the desired device for input and the correct output device, restart Discord.

Changing Discord’s Volume Level Setting

Fix Discord volume output through its volume mixer. There might be an instance in which you accidentally set the setting to this to zero.

1. STEP 1

   Open your Discord app, then go to user settings.

2. STEP 2

   

   Select “Voice and Video,” which is under the “App Settings” category.

3. STEP 3

   

   Adjust the volume by using the horizontal slider just below the “Input Device” and “Output Device” options.

Reset voice settings on Discord

If you changed a lot of your Discord sound settings reaching the point that it’s not working anymore, you might consider resetting voice settings. This will bring back all to default.

1. step 1

   Open Discord and head to user settings.

2. step 2

   

   Select “Voice and Video” located on the left pane under “App Settings.”

3. step 3

   

   Scroll to the bottom until you see the button “Reset Voice Settings.” Then click on it.

4. step 4

   

   Click the “Okay” button once the prompt comes up.

5. step 5

   Restart Discord.

Change the Server Region

If issues like not being able to hear people in Discord servers that you manage, you might consider tweaking a few things off your server settings. Your server may have a poor connection due to factors such as location, latency, and network bandwidth. Most likely, this will also affect audio output.

Surprisingly, changing your server region could also solve Discord audio problems effectively. You could try to change it to a location near you or where you think it is fast.

1. STEP 1

   

   Right-click your pre-existing server icon from Discord home. Then go to “Server Settings.”

2. STEP 2

   

   You will see on the overview tab the information about your server. Under the “Server Region,” select the country you want to change to.

3. STEP 3

   

   Select from the options of the server regions. This could be anywhere but much advisable that it is near your location.

4. STEP 4

   

   Change” button once you have chosen your preferred location.

5. STEP 5

   Refresh Discord.

Use Discord’s latest legacy audio subsystem

Discord has exclusive audio subsystems that can be changed based on external hardware devices or the device itself. Currently, this feature has three options: Standard, Legacy, and Experimental (when applicable).

There’s not much of a difference between the three but just a matter of compatibility with your device. So whatever caters best to the spec of your computer should be chosen.

1. STEP 1

   

   Open Discord and access the user settings located at the bottom-left corner, next to your profile info.

2. STEP 2

   

   Go to “Voice & Video Settings.”

3. STEP 3

   

   Scroll down to the ‘Audio Subsystem’ option.

4. STEP 4

   

   Click the drop-down menu, and here you can find the options to choose from. For this guide, it is suggested to use “Legacy” audio subsystem.

5. STEP 5

   

   Click OK once you get a prompt about making a change.

6. STEP 6

   Wait for Discord to finish relaunching the app.

Note: This is a trial and error, so if one audio subsystem does not work, freely try the others using the same procedure.

Reinstalling the Discord app

Reinstall Discord if you must if nothing else above works. This audio issue that the app cannot possibly solve may work again after a clean install.

1. STEP 1

   

   Uninstall Discord from the “Apps and Features” section of Windows settings.

2. STEP 2

   

   Download Discord again from its website.

3. STEP 3

   Install Discord by running the downloaded setup file.