Discord mic not working? How to fix it

Test your mic first

Run the Mic Test in your browser. If the level bar moves when you talk, your microphone and your system are fine, and the fix is in Discord's settings below. If the bar doesn't move, start with the steps for Windows 11 or macOS, because Discord can't hear a microphone your system can't.

Check Discord's Voice & Video settings

Open User Settings, the gear icon next to your name at the bottom left, and select Voice & Video under App Settings.

Input device and volume

1. Under Input Device, pick your microphone by name. Default follows your system's choice, which may not be the microphone you're talking into.
2. Check that Input Volume isn't turned all the way down.
3. Under Mic Test, select Let's Check and talk. Discord plays your voice back to you, and the bar moves with it. Select Stop Testing when you're done.

Input mode: Voice Activity or Push to Talk

• Voice Activity sends your voice whenever it's loud enough. It suits most people.
• Push to Talk sends your voice only while you hold a key. If it's on, check the Shortcut it uses and hold that key while you talk. In Discord in a browser, Push to Talk works only while the Discord tab is in front.

Input sensitivity

With Voice Activity, Discord ignores sound below a threshold, so a quiet voice can be cut off. Turn on Automatically determine input sensitivity first. If you still cut out, turn it off and drag the slider to the left, below the level your voice reaches on the meter, so that your normal voice is always above the threshold.

Voice processing

Discord can clean up your voice with Noise Suppression, Echo Cancellation and Automatic Gain Control. Strong noise suppression can cut out a quiet voice or a whisper. If you keep cutting out, try a lower noise suppression setting, or turn it off for a moment to compare.

Reset voice settings

If you've changed many settings and lost track, scroll to the bottom of Voice & Video and select Reset Voice Settings. Discord goes back to its defaults; then pick your input device again.

Check that you aren't muted

• The microphone icon next to your name at the bottom left mutes you. A line through it means you're muted.
• The headphones icon next to it deafens you, which also mutes your microphone.
• A server's moderators can mute you on that server. You then see a red microphone icon next to your name in the voice channel; ask a moderator, or try another server.
• Friends can turn your voice down for themselves. Ask them to right-click your name in the voice channel and check User Volume.

Fix it on Windows 11

1. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. Turn on Microphone access, Let apps access your microphone and Let desktop apps access your microphone. The Discord app counts as a desktop app.
2. Open Settings → System → Sound. Under Input, pick your microphone, check its volume, and talk to see the level move.
3. Stop other apps from taking over the microphone: in Settings → System → Sound, open More sound settings, go to the Recording tab, select your microphone and choose Properties. On the Advanced tab, clear Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
4. Close other apps that use the microphone, such as games with voice chat, OBS or another call app.
5. Restart Discord: right-click its icon in the notification area at the right end of the taskbar and quit it, then open Discord again.

Fix it on macOS

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and turn on Discord. If Discord isn't in the list, join a voice channel so that macOS asks you.
2. Quit Discord with Command-Q and open it again, so the change takes effect.
3. Open System Settings → Sound, select Input, choose your microphone and check that the input level moves when you talk.

Discord in a browser

In a browser, Discord needs the site's permission too. On the Discord page, click the icon at the left end of the address bar in Chrome, Edge or Firefox and allow the microphone, or choose Safari → Settings for This Website in Safari and set Microphone to Allow. Then reload the page. The browser also needs the system permission from the Windows or Mac steps above.

Headsets and Bluetooth

• Check the mute switch or button on the headset or on its cable. Many headsets mute without any sign on screen.
• Plug a USB headset into another port, straight into the computer rather than a hub.
• A Bluetooth headset can stay connected to your phone and ignore the computer. Disconnect it from the phone, or turn the headset off and on, then pick it again in Discord.
• Some Bluetooth headsets show up as two devices, one for listening and one for calls with a microphone. Pick the one that includes the microphone in Discord's Input Device list.

Still not working?

• Restart the computer, then open Discord again.
• Try Discord in a browser if you use the app, or the app if you use a browser, to see whether the problem follows.
• Update Discord, or reinstall it if updating doesn't help.
• Try another microphone or headset. If your microphone also fails the test in the browser and in your system's sound settings, the microphone is probably at fault; check your retailer's return policy or contact the maker.