Fix: Discord Audio Cutting Out

Discord is currently one of the most popular voice communication platforms, and with good reason! It is useful in a variety of situations and serves a purpose for schools, companies, and, most notably, gamers.

However, like any other communication program, there are some inevitable issues.

For example, you might sit down at your computer to play a few games with your teammates, but your plan fails because your audio keeps cutting out. You keep closing and opening the chat and Discord, but it doesn’t fix the issue. What else can you do?

Here are some strategies that many users have found to be reliable fixes in the past.

Fix 1: Update Discord

Discord is a huge platform that can be used by many millions of users at the same time. As a result, its development team is constantly working on releasing updates that provide new features, improve performance, and give better audio quality.

Unfortunately, these updates can sometimes temporarily break features rather than improve them.

If you are having a problem with audio cutting out while chatting on Discord, don’t panic! It might not be an issue on your end.

Fixing this problem will require you to update to the latest version of Discord. Here’s what you need to do:

Method 1

1. Open Discord
2. Click the Update Discord icon in the top-right corner of the window
3. The app will automatically update and restart

Sometimes, the dedicated update button might be missing, but you can still use an alternative method.

Method 2

1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Find the “Discord (32 bit)” process in Task Manager and click End Task on the bottom right.
3. Start the application again, and it should update automatically.

You now have the latest version of Discord, and your audio problems should be fixed. If you’re still having issues, continue to the other fixes in this article.

Fix 2: Check Audio Settings

The solution to this problem might be simpler than you think. For example, your settings might have been reset to their defaults, or you could have altered them by mistake. In either case, we can help! Here’s what you will need to adjust:

1. Click User Settings in the bottom-left corner, next to the Mute and Deafen icons.
2. Under App Settings, select the Voice & Video tab.

Adjust input sensitivity

Starting from here, it is important to assess your input sensitivity, which is typically the main cause. The easiest way is to let the application decide the input sensitivity automatically.

Otherwise, you can leave it disabled and, with some trial and error, manually determine the best input sensitivity. In most cases, anything between -60dB and -45dB should be fine.

You can determine whether or not Discord is using your microphone by watching the yellow and green bar under this setting. If the mic is not being picked up, you will need to continue troubleshooting.

Adjust Input and Output Device

Above the Input Sensitivity setting, there are options for Input (microphone) and Output (speakers, headphones) Devices.

If you have no problem with hearing audio on your headphones or speakers, there is no need to alter the Output Device option. However, if you do, click on the dropdown list and ensure the correct device is selected.

This also goes for the microphone. Make sure the proper microphone is chosen.

While you’re here, you can also adjust the Output Volume to hear your friends more clearly. Increase the Input Volume if your friends can’t hear you properly.

Fix 3: Update Audio Drivers

If none of the above fixes work for you, the issue might be with your computer or hardware. To check that the problem is not hardware-based, you need to make sure your Audio Drivers are up to date.

1. Go to the Windows Start Menu, search for Device Manager and open it
2. A window will open with a list of all of your PC hardware. You should expand the Audio inputs and outputs tab
3. You will see a list of all your audio devices. In many cases, there are only two: your microphone and speakers (or headphones)
4. Right-click the device that you are having issues with and press Update driver.
5. Another window will appear. You need to press Search automatically for update driver software.

The process should be completed after a few minutes, and the problem with your Discord audio cutting out should be gone.

Fix 4: Uninstall Discord

If none of the above fixes are working, you might need to do something slightly more drastic, such as completely uninstalling the application. Here’s what you need to do to uninstall Discord.

1. From the Start Menu, search for Add or Remove programs and open it.
2. Find Discord in the newly opened window, click Uninstall and complete the steps.
3. Once the uninstallation process is completed, download a new setup file from the official Discord website.
4. Complete the installation and launch the app.

After successfully reinstalling Discord, every setting should revert to its default, and you shouldn’t encounter any further audio issues.

Fix 5: Check Windows Microphone Privacy Settings

A past Windows 10 update caused many privacy settings to be reset or altered to be off. As a result, many users had trouble establishing communications on any voice platform.

This might be why your microphone is not being picked up, which can be corrected with this fix.

1. From the Start Menu, click the Settings icon right above the Power button.
2. Once in the settings menu, go into Privacy and scroll on the left side of the window until you find the Microphone tab.
3. Ensure the Allow desktop apps to access your microphone and allow apps to access your microphone options are both enabled.

Fix 6: Try A Different Discord Server

One reason you are having trouble hearing your friends might be the result of a bad server. To check, you can join a different Discord Server or change the server’s region. Alternatively, you can ask the server’s admin to do this.

Fix 7: Check Your Hardware

If everything else fails, the culprit might be your hardware. Your headphones, speakers, or microphone might not be working properly.

The simplest way to check is to plug another set of headphones into your computer. If they work, it is likely a hardware issue.

To test further, you can plug the original headphones into a different PC and check whether or not they work there.

We are sure that one of these fixes will resolve your audio cutting-out issues with enough trial and error. However, if the problem persists, there might be something wrong with the audio card on your motherboard itself.

In that situation, you might need to request an RMA or contemplate professional repair services.