10 Quick Ways to Fix Discord When You Can't Hear People

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Fix sound on Discord when you can't hear anyone

Co-authored by Rain Kengly Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: May 28, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Troubleshooting Discord Sound
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• Why can't I hear on Discord?
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• Video

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Are you having trouble hearing your friends on Discord? If you can't hear a friend, or if they can't hear you, this is likely an issue with your input and output settings. If your settings are correct, there are a few other places you can check for unintentional mutes. Here's why you can't hear your friends on Discord and how to fix it.

Why Can't I Hear Others on Discord?

If you can't hear others on Discord, open your Settings and click Voice & Video. Make sure the Input Device and Output Device are correct for your setup. You can also right-click users in the same voice call and check for individual mute settings.

Steps

Section 1 of 2:

Troubleshooting Discord Sound

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1. 
   1
   Check your mute or deafen button. If you can't hear your friends on Discord, make sure you don't have the deafen feature enabled. When it's on, you'll see a red slash through the headphones icon. If your friends can't hear you, make sure you're not muted. This looks like a red slash through the mic icon.

   • Mute and deafen are inactive when you see no red slashes.
2. 
   2
   Check your input and output settings. Whether you can't hear your friends and they can hear you or you can hear your friends and they can't hear you, you should always make sure your input and output settings are set correctly. Input refers to the device used to capture your voice, such as your microphone. Output refers to the device used to transmit sound, such as your headset or speakers.

   • Discord Desktop:
     • Click the cog icon.
     • Click the Voice & Video tab.
     • Select the correct device for Input Device.
     • Select the correct device for Output Device.
   • Discord Mobile:
     • Join a voice channel.
     • Swipe up on the bottom menu to open it.
     • Tap Change Audio Output.
     • Select the correct output.
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3. 
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   Check for individual mutes. You may have accidentally muted a user in their individual user settings, or someone may have muted you. To check these settings, right-click a user in the same voice channel. Make sure User Volume is set higher than 0 and that Mute has no checkmark within its box.

   • On mobile, long-press a user in the same voice channel.
4. 
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   Check the default audio output format (Windows). If it's too high for your device, you may not hear sound through your output device. To change it, do the following:

   • Right-click the sound icon in the taskbar.
   • Click Sound settings.
   • Click the > arrow on the right of your output device.
   • Click the Format drop-down menu.
   • Select a lower Hz format.
5. 
   5
   Check your volume mixer settings (Windows). You may have the Discord application set to mute on your computer. This will mute all Discord audio, including your friends' voices. To check, do the following:

   • Right-click the sound icon in the taskbar.
   • Click Open volume mixer.
   • Make sure the speaker icon does not have an X. If it does, click it to unmute Discord.
6. 
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   Make sure you're not on Push to Talk. When Push to Talk is enabled, you'll need to press a certain key for your voice to transmit. To change it back to the default "Voice Activity", do the following:

   • Click the cog icon.
   • Click the Voice & Video tab.
   • Select Voice Activity under Input Mode.
7. 
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   Try different voice settings. Discord has built-in voice processing settings that may interfere with your device's own settings. Navigate to the Voice & Video tab and try disabling Noise Suppression, Automatic Gain Control, and/or Echo Cancellation.
8. 
   8
   Unplug your audio devices and plug them in again. If you can't hear your friends or if they can't hear you, you may have a loose connection somewhere. Double-check that your input and output devices are securely plugged into your device.
9. 
   9
   Restart your device. If you changed a few settings to fix your audio, you may need to restart your computer to apply those changes.
10. 
    10
    Try a different device. You may have an older headset, microphone, speaker, or other device that has become incompatible with newer software. Try using a different device to see if the issues improve. If you can hear your friends with other devices, it's likely time to upgrade.
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Section 2 of 2:

Why can't I hear my friend on Discord?

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1. 
   You may have audio problems due to incorrect settings or faulty devices. If you can't hear your friends on Discord, or if they can't hear you, it's likely due to incorrect input/output device configurations. Discord can sometimes switch your audio devices without prompting, which can cause trouble during voice calls.

   • If your input and output audio settings are correct, you may have to update the sound settings on your computer rather than Discord.
   • If you have an older device, it may no longer be compatible with newer app updates.
   • Make sure you’re running the latest version of Discord and that your device and drivers are up to date.

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