Fix: Can’t Hear People on Discord

Discord is a fantastic messenger and voice chat solution for professionals and gamers alike. At least, it is great up until you can no longer hear your friends raging during intense ranked matches in Dota 2.

It doesn’t matter what online multiplayer game you enjoy playing — whether that’s Fortnite, CS: GO or Overwatch — it is important that you can effectively communicate with your teammates to increase your chances of winning. You see, when it comes to online gaming, communication is often the key to success. That, and a high-end mouse for gaming.

In this guide, we will attempt to help you fix the problem of being unable to hear your friends on Discord by supplying you with a range of solutions. With that being said, here are the top seven fixes that should see you speaking with your pals again in no time.

Fix 1: Simple Hardware Check

One of the most obvious ways to fix your problem of not being able to hear people in Discord is to simply check if your headset is connected to your PC in the first place. While it may sound obvious, I can’t tell you how many times my Bluetooth cans have automatically connected to my phone, rather than my computer.

If you happen to own some wireless headphones, simply head over to Windows Settings > Devices > Turn On Bluetooth > Connect your audio device under Audio.

If you don’t have Bluetooth headphones, make sure that your wired headset is securely connected to your PC. Even if you believe your headset is plugged in, chances are your headphone jack is not properly plugged into the audio port on your gaming rig.

To make sure it is, simply push (but don’t force) on the jack so that it goes all the way into the audio-in port on your tower. Another simple-yet-obvious solution is to merely check if you have accidentally pressed the mute button on your headset. Yes, I have done this, and no, I’m not proud of it.

Fix 2: Change Your Default Communication Device

The next method on our list is one that is often overlooked since you have to go into Windows Settings to change it. If your chosen audio device is not set as the default communication device in Windows settings, then you may not be able to hear your friends in Discord. Like the previous method on our list, this one is simple yet very effective, which is exactly why it’s here on our list of fixes.

If you don’t know how to do it yourself, here’s how to change your default communication device in Windows 10:

1. Right-click on the “Speakers” icon found in the bottom-right of the Windows taskbar and select “Open Sound settings”.
2. In the Sound options window, click on “Sound Control Panel” under “Related Settings”. You can find this on the right-hand side of your screen.
3. Click on the Playback tab then right-click on your preferred device.
4. In the drop-down menu, select “Set as Default Communications Device”.
5. Repeat step 3 and select “Set as Default Device”.
6. Click Apply then select OK.
7. Restart Discord.

Fix 3: Alter Discord Settings: Output Volume and Output Device

If changing the settings in Windows doesn’t fix the problem, you can try altering the audio options directly from Discord. To do this, go back to User Settings in Discord and head to Voice & Video.

From there, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the red “Reset Voice Settings” button. This will allow you to start fresh before troubleshooting the issue. As a matter of fact, doing this alone could very well fix the problem altogether.

Now that you have a clean slate to work with, go ahead and select the appropriate input and output devices from the two drop-down menus. Next, you should make sure that the Output Volume slider isn’t set to zero, otherwise, you won’t be able to hear your friends at all.

You can check this by going to Discord > User Settings > Voice & Video > Output Volume. If it is set to zero, simply move the slider to the right until you can hear your friends on Discord again.

Fix 4: Advanced Discord Settings

If that doesn’t work, head back to Voice & Video settings in Discord and scroll down to the “Advanced” section near the bottom of the page. Next, go ahead and set the Audio Subsystem to “Standard”, rather than “Experimental”. As with the previous method, you will have to reset Discord to apply the changes made.

Fix 5: Turn on Legacy Audio Subsystem

If you’ve only just noticed the problem after updating Discord, there’s a strong chance your hardware isn’t compatible with the latest audio subsystem. This can easily be fixed by reverting to the legacy audio system.

To do this, you must:

1. Go to Discord.
2. Head to User Settings.
3. Click on Voice & Video under App Settings.
4.  Scroll down to the Audio Subsystem subheading and toggle “Use Legacy Audio Subsystem”.
5. Click OK.
6. Reset Discord.

Fix 6: Restart Discord

You call up your local IT technician with a problem and he quickly responds: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” As straightforward as it may sound, the IT support-approved solution may just resolve your issue in a jiffy. In this case, we suggest closing Discord and opening it up again.

On top of restarting Discord, we also suggest restarting Windows just to be safe. By restarting both Discord and Windows, you might finally be able to hear your friends screaming through their mic again.

Fix 7: Contact Discord

If you’re really struggling to fix the problem, you can always contact Discord and forward your issues to them for investigation. In order to do this, head on over to the request page on the official Discord website.

Once you’re on the page, click on the blank box under “What can we help you with?” and select Help & Support from the drop-down menu. After that, select Audio and Voice Troubleshooting under “Type of question?” Next, fill in the required fields and submit your request.

Note: Discord recently announced that users should expect delayed responses from their support team due to recent events (COVID-19).

Conclusion

Even though Discord is an excellent messenger and voice chat solution for both professionals and gamers alike, like any application, it can be fairly temperamental. If you suddenly can’t hear people, or if Discord stops working in-game, things can get a little frustrating — especially if it happens right before an important ranked match. Luckily for you, we have scoured the internet to find the best possible solutions.

Did you manage to fix the issue? Maybe you require further assistance? Feel free to drop a message below and we’ll be with you as soon as possible!

Another well-known error that some users may encounter is the frustrating Discord no-route error. If you’re experiencing this issue, head on over to our in-depth guide on how to fix the problem so that you can get back chatting with your pals in no time. After all, Discord is nothing without friends.