TenSecondCheck

Discord mic not working?

Test the microphone below first: if it works here, the fix is in Discord’s voice settings, not in the hardware.

Runs in your browser only

What the result tells you

It works here

The microphone itself works. Look inside Discord: the input device, the input mode (voice or a key press), the sensitivity, and whether you are muted on the server. Step 2 below goes through each of them.

It does not work here

Discord is not the cause: the microphone is muted, unplugged or blocked by the system. Fix that with the steps for your system below, then open Discord again.

Check in this order

Discord has more places where a voice can get lost than most call apps: the device list, the input mode, the sensitivity threshold, your own mute, and rules set by each server. Checking them in order finds the cause faster than changing everything at once.

  1. The microphone itself. Start the test at the top of this page. If the bar moves, the hardware and the system are fine, and everything below is about Discord. If it stays still, open the full microphone test and fix that first.
  2. Mute and deafen. At the bottom left, next to your avatar, there is a microphone and a pair of headphones. If either is crossed out, click it. Deafening also mutes you, so a crossed-out headset alone is enough to make you silent.
  3. Input device. Open User Settings with the gear next to your name and go to Voice & Video. Choose the microphone that moved the bar here instead of leaving the default. After you plug in a new headset, Discord may keep the old choice until you change it.
  4. Mic test inside Discord. The same page has a mic test. Start it and speak: you should hear yourself. If you do not, the input volume slider may be close to zero.
  5. Input mode. With voice activity, Discord sends sound only when it is louder than the sensitivity threshold. Watch the bar while you speak: the part of your voice that crosses the marker is transmitted. If the automatic setting cuts you off, switch it off and drag the marker lower. With push-to-talk, you are silent until you hold the chosen key.
  6. Server rules. A server can mute a member, take away the right to speak in a channel or require push-to-talk there. If you are heard in one channel but not in another, this is almost always the reason. Ask a moderator.
  7. Voice processing. Noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain help most of the time, but on some microphones they cut words. Turn them off one by one to see which one causes the problem. If you have changed many settings, the reset button at the bottom of Voice & Video puts everything back.

On Windows

Open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and make sure microphone access is on and that desktop apps are allowed to use it. The Discord app installed from its website is a desktop app, so this switch applies to it even when the browser already works. In Windows 10 look under Settings → Privacy → Microphone.

Discord on Windows also has an audio subsystem option in Voice & Video. If the microphone is not detected at all, switching to the legacy option and restarting Discord sometimes helps. Also close other programs that record sound; some take the microphone for themselves.

On a Mac

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and switch Discord on. If Discord is not listed, join a voice channel so that it asks for access. Quit Discord completely after changing the setting and open it again. Then check System Settings → Sound → Input: the level should move when you speak.

On Android

Open the system settings, go to apps, choose Discord and allow the microphone in its permissions. Names differ between phone makers; search the settings for “permissions” if needed. On Android 12 and newer, check that microphone access is on in the quick settings panel. The Discord app has its own voice settings with the same input mode and sensitivity as on a computer, so look there too.

On iPhone and iPad

Open Settings, find Discord (in recent iOS versions under Apps) and turn on the microphone. The list of apps with microphone access is also in Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. If AirPods or another headset is connected, the iPhone uses its microphone, so remove it to test the phone on its own.

If you use Discord in a browser instead of the app, the browser needs microphone access for the Discord site. Allow it the same way as for this page. For video calls, check the camera with the webcam test. The steps for Zoom are on microphone not working in Zoom.

If it does not work

On your system

  1. Open Settings → System → Sound and check that the right microphone is set as the input device.
  2. In the same place, speak and watch the input level bar move. If it does not move there either, the problem is outside the browser.
  3. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone and make sure microphone access is on for apps and for your browser.
  4. Close any call app that may be holding the microphone — Zoom, Teams, Discord and Meet keep it even when minimised.
  1. Open System Settings → Sound → Input and check that the right microphone is selected and its level moves when you speak.
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and switch your browser on.
  3. After changing that setting, quit the browser completely and open it again — macOS only applies it to a fresh start.
  1. Open Settings → Apps → your browser → Permissions and allow the microphone.
  2. Check whether a case or a finger is covering the microphone hole, usually on the bottom edge.
  3. Menu names differ between phone makers, so look for the app permissions screen rather than an exact path.
  1. Open Settings → Safari (or your browser) and check the microphone entry.
  2. If you use a browser other than Safari, also check Settings → that browser → Microphone.
  3. Turn off any Bluetooth headset that may be capturing the sound instead.

Allowing access in your browser

  1. Click the icon at the left end of the address bar, next to the site address.
  2. Find the camera or microphone entry and set it to allow.
  3. Reload the page — the permission only takes effect on a fresh load.
  4. If the entry is missing, open chrome://settings/content/microphone or chrome://settings/content/camera and remove this site from the blocked list.
  1. Click the icon at the left end of the address bar, next to the site address.
  2. Set the camera or microphone to allow, then reload the page.
  3. If the site is blocked, open edge://settings/content/microphone or edge://settings/content/camera and remove it from the blocked list.
  1. Click the icon at the left end of the address bar and remove the blocked permission.
  2. Reload the page and answer the permission prompt again.
  3. Permissions for every site live in Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions.
  1. On a Mac: Safari menu → Settings → Websites → Camera or Microphone, then set this site to Allow.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad: tap the page settings button at the left of the address bar and check the camera and microphone entries.
  3. Also check Settings → Safari on the device, where camera and microphone access can be blocked for every site at once.

Questions and answers

The input level in Discord moves, but nobody hears me. Why?
The sound reaches Discord but is not being sent. Check that your voice crosses the sensitivity threshold, that push-to-talk is not switched on, and that you have not been muted on the server. A red or crossed-out microphone next to your name in the voice channel shows a mute set by the server.
Discord hangs on “RTC Connecting” or shows “No Route”. Is that my microphone?
No. Those messages mean Discord cannot reach its voice server. A VPN, a strict firewall or a network that restricts access is the usual cause. The microphone may be fine; fix the connection first.
Push-to-talk works on the desktop but not inside a game.
The game is probably running with administrator rights, and Discord without them cannot see your key press while the game window is active. Run Discord the same way or switch to voice activity.
My friends hear a robotic or choppy voice. Is the microphone broken?
More often it is the connection or heavy processing. Test a recording on this page: if it sounds clean here, lower the noise suppression in Discord and check your network before buying a new microphone.