[Full Fix] Discord Mic Not Working (Windows 10 Guide)

There’s nothing more frustrating than a Discord mic which is not working, and you are unable to voice chat with your online gamer pals.

Usually, the mic in Discord stops working in the desktop app. The microphone works just fine when you’re on the Discord web application. But, when you play online PC games using this VoIP app, other members on the channel can’t hear your voice.

When the Discord mic is not working, there may be something wrong with your computer’s audio settings, the game setting or the Discord app itself. Sometimes Discord users find that their mic is not working on the Windows 10 machine, but working fine on other Windows editions.

Let’s figure out what went wrong with the Discord mic and how to get it fixed on your Windows 10 PC.

Why is Discord Mic Not Working in Windows 10?

Online gaming has evolved and you may not need Skype or TeamSpeak servers to support your voice chat from outside the game. The Discord app is a great VoIP tool that integrates with your online multiplayer game.

But, what’s the use of this all-in-one freeware when others can’t hear what you’re saying. To figure out why your mic’s not working on Discord, you break down the issue as follows –

• Check your microphone – Gaming requires headphones with mic and if there’s a fault in the microphone, you won’t hear the audio even on apps other than Discord. Open the Audio Recorder app on your Windows 10 and try recording something from your microphone. If you can hear the recorded audio clearly, then there’s nothing wrong with microphone device.

• Perform an upload speed test – You can check the upload speed of your internet connection. It should meet the global standards to transmit audio smoothly on Discord. Also, make sure that your upload speed is at the point of the average upload speed in your location.

• Use Discord on your web browser – You can fix your headphones if they’re not working on Windows 10. But, if there’s nothing wrong with the headset mic, then there’s got to be something wrong with the Discord app. If the microphone works perfectly on Discord’s browser app, then check the desktop app for problems.

Pursuant to these three checks, you can find a fix for Discord mic not working in game. Here are all the possible ways to fix Discord mic not working on your Windows 10 PC.

Mic Not Working on Discord? Get it Fixed

Most solutions revolve around changing the settings on Discord’s desktop app. There are only a few instances where Discord’s mic is not working due to issues with your Windows 10 settings.

Take a look at these fixes one by one and try out all of them to see which one fixes your Discord mic in all respects.

1. Update your Audio driver

First, you’ll sort out the audio settings on your Windows 10 system. If the audio driver is outdated, Discord won’t be able to process sounds from the microphone.

Update your audio driver and see if the microphone picks up sound correctly or not. You can use driver updater tools for Windows or update the audio driver manually as follows –

1. Go to the Start menu and search for “ device manager ”

1. Open the Device Manager app and expand the category – Sound, video and game controllers

1. Right-click on the active audio driver
2. Click on ‘ Update driver ’ from the context menu
3. Click on ‘ Yes ’ when the UAC prompt shows up
4. Choose the option – Search automatically for updated driver software

1. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the updates
2. Restart your PC

You can also try out some other ways to fix sound issues on your Windows 10 PC .

2. Log out and Log in

Next up, you’ll open the Discord app only to log out of it. If you repeatedly log out and log in on the Discord desktop app, the program is able to fix its minor errors.

• Open the Discord desktop app
• Click on the gear icon in the bottom-left corner to open User Settings

• Scroll down and click on Log Out

• Re-click on Log Out to confirm
• Sometimes, you may have to repeatedly click on Log Out for the app to register

When you log in again, Discord is able to reload your user preferences and doesn’t mix up with other account settings.

3. Allow Discord Administrative privileges

In Windows 10, an app such as Discord needs appropriate permissions to transmit voice over the internet. Without the administrative privileges, Discord’s mic may not work properly to send your voice while gaming.

• Right-click on the Discord app icon
• Click on ‘ Run as administrator ’ from the drop down menu

• Click on ‘ Yes ’ in the UAC prompt pop-up
• Log in with your user account credentials

Make sure you re-run Discord as administrator before launching the game.

4. Select the microphone as Discord’s input device

Let’s try manually changing the input device on Discord. This can help the app identify the microphone device better.

The VoIP app makes strange choices when the Input Device setting is set to default. To set a new input device on Discord,

• Go to the User Settings menu (shown in solution 2 )

• Under the App Settings , click on Voice & Video

• In the Input Device Section, choose the headset microphone (not your PC’s inbuilt mic)

If the headset mic doesn’t show up in the Input device list,

1. Re-connect your headset to the PC
2. Right-click on the audio icon from your Desktop’s notifications area
3. Select “ Recording devices ” from the menu
4. In the Sound properties window, go to Recording tab
5. Click on the headset microphone
6. Speak into the microphone to see the audio levels rise up
7. Now, re-open Discord and change the input device as shown above

When Discord is not recognizing the mic, changing the input device as above fixes the issue. As a result, Discord can easily transmit the audio picked up by your microphone.

5. Enable “Automatic input sensitivity”

If user has disabled automatic input sensitivity of Discord’s input devices, the microphone won’t work. You need to enable Discord to determine the microphone’s audio sensitivity all by itself.

• Go to the App Settings on Discord’s User Settings menu
• Click on Voice & Video
• Navigate to “ Input Sensitivity ”
• Hit the toggle switch to enable – Automatically determine input sensitivity

• Restart the Discord app

Now, the manual sensitivity bar doesn’t slide all the way to left, and you won’t face an issue where Discord’s not picking up mic sounds.

6. Reset Voice settings on Discord

This is the most successful method to fix the Discord mic not working issue. You simply reset Discord’s voice settings and restore things to default.

• Open the User Settings menu
• Click on Voice & Video (as shown earlier)
• Scroll to the bottom and click on Reset Voice Settings

• Click on “ Okay ” to confirm
• Reconnect your headset after the reset is finished

By default, the app surely picks up the microphone sounds and you’re able to voice chat with your gaming pals again. On the downside, your user preferences and previous voice settings are lost after this reset. If that’s not an issue, then go with this fix.

7. Turn off Exclusive Mode on Windows Recording Devices

Windows can allow some applications to take complete control of the audio drivers. This ‘ Exclusive Mode ’ may have caused Discord to not pick up microphone sounds.

To disable Exclusive Mode in Windows 10,

1. Go to the desktop notifications area
2. Right-click on the volume icon
3. Click on Recording devices from the menu
4. Select the headset microphone, right-click on it, and click on ‘ Properties ’ from the menu
5. Now, go to the Advanced tab in the Microphone Properties window
6. Here, under the Exclusive Mode section, uncheck the box for – Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device
7. Click on OK and Apply to confirm these changes
8. Restart your PC

By disabling the Exclusive Mode, other apps won’t be able to use your computer’s audio endpoint devices like the microphone in entirety.

8. Switch from “Voice Activity” to “Push to talk”

Sometimes, changing the Input mode to Push to Talk can also help you fix Discord’s microphone issue.

• Go to the User Settings menu
• Under the App Settings , click on Voice & Video
• Go to the Input mode, and enable – Push to Talk

• Uncheck the option – Voice Activity
• Close the app and reopen it

Check if the mic’s working properly on Discord. By changing the Input mode of Discord’s devices, you can rest the microphone settings and resume your voice chat.

How to Fix: “Discord Mic Not Working After Windows Update”

You can troubleshoot the Discord mic not working issue with above solutions. But, when it comes to Windows 10, there are some system updates that may stop the microphone from working on Discord.

The recent Windows 10 updates have become a pain in the neck for Discord users and gamers in general.

Users have reported that Discord won’t open after installing the Fall/Creators update in Windows 10. Similarly, there are instances where Discord couldn’t pick up microphone audio after installing the latest Windows 10 updates .

There are two ways to fix this –

• Restore your Windows 10 to an earlier state
• Go to the Start menu, search for “control panel”
• Open the Control Panel and go to Recovery>Open System Restore > Next

• Choose the update from the results
• Click on Scan for affected programs
• A list of items shown are deleted to create a restore point
• Click on OK to continue
• Then, click on Next and Finish
• Reset your PC completely

Go to Settings > click on Update & Security > Recovery > choose Reset this PC > Follow the onscreen instructions and select the data recovery options.

Later, you’ll reinstall Discord and see how the microphone works perfectly.

You can also roll back your recent Windows Updates to fix the Discord mic issue. To avoid this, make sure you disable the Windows Update Assistant and prevent automatic installation of system upgrades.

Share with us your experience on fixing the Discord mic not working issue in Windows 10.

Leave a comment below.

---

Read Also:

• Headphones Not Working on My Windows 10 PC? How to Fix?
• No Sound on Windows 10: Here’s How to Fix Windows 10 Audio Problems

---