Fix: Discord Screen Share No Audio

One of Discord’s most impressive features is the ability for users to easily screen share/stream any window on their computer with a friend or hundreds of people in the same channel!

Unfortunately, this experience is not always seamless for every user. Viewers might have trouble listening to the audio of your stream. You could also encounter these issues while listening to somebody else’s stream.

To troubleshoot these audio issues, we have made this guide, which offers all possible fixes. Keep reading!

Fix 1: Restart Computer

Sometimes, complicated problems call for the simplest solutions. Before you start troubleshooting and wasting great lengths of time trying to fix your Discord audio, try restarting your computer.

These issues can sometimes be caused by a conflict between your audio drivers and the application, and restarting your computer can solve this.

If this simple fix fails to resolve your issues, continue to fix number two.

Fix 2:  Unmute Stream

Discord’s user interface isn’t the most user-friendly when it comes to streaming, unlike most other features of the application. There are no hints or tips to direct you toward the options you need, so it can be confusing for new users.

Due to this lack of information, some users are left with no audio when watching a stream. They might not even be aware that you can mute a stream. If you think your streaming audio might be muted, follow these steps to unmute it.

1. Open your friend’s stream in full screen.
2. Move your cursor to the bottom right corner of the stream
3. There will be three icons, one of which is a speaker
4. Click on the speaker icon to unmute or mute the stream.

Additionally, you can hover over the speaker icon to adjust your volume.

Fix 3: Update Discord

Different versions of Discord are not always compatible, which commonly leads to users having trouble hearing each other or listening to screen-sharing audio.

Your friends might have a newer version of Discord installed, so you should update your application to match theirs.

Restart the application to quickly and easily update it.

Fix 4: No Audio Support For Desktop/Entire Screen Streaming

In some instances, you shouldn’t be searching for a solution because there is no issue to fix on your end.

For example, desktop streaming on Discord doesn’t support audio. If your friends are streaming their entire screen/desktop instead of a specific window, there won’t be any audio available.

It is recommended to stream just one window instead of the entire desktop for the best experience. Your stream will look better visually, and your viewers will also be able to enjoy audio.

If this does not fix your problem, there might be something wrong with the app’s settings or your computer’s audio drivers. In that case, continue with the fixes below.

Fix 5: Reset Voice Settings to Defaults

Discord has numerous settings available, allowing you to customize your voice chatting experience in great detail.

However, as Discord is updated, the new options in the settings might no longer meet your requirements.

To make sure the issue doesn’t arise from your preferences, you must reset the vocal settings to their original options. Here is how you can accomplish that:

1. Click the small cogwheel icon on the bottom left corner of a Discord server to open User Settings.
2. Open the Voice & Video tab in the list to the left.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Reset Video Settings.
   
4. Press Okay when a pop-up asks you to confirm your selection.

Your audio settings have now been reset. Check whether or not there’s audio by watching a screen share stream. If you are still having issues, you can read this article, which explains some of Discord’s audio settings.

If you still haven’t had any luck fixing the problem, there are a couple more fixes listed below.

Fix 5: Disable Shadowplay (Only for NVIDIA Users)

Shadowplay is NVIDIA’s screen recording tool, which is automatically built into their drivers/driver software. It’s straightforward and easy to use, so there is usually little reason to disable it.

However, some users have reported a decreased visual and audio quality in Discord streams/screen shares when they have Shadowplay enabled. Once disabled, the quality of Discord streams could improve considerably.

This solution solely pertains to NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU) users and solely when others are experiencing difficulty perceiving your live broadcast, rather than when you are observing theirs. If you are unable to hear streams from other individuals, please explore some of the alternative remedies discussed in this article.

Follow these steps to disable NVIDIA’s Shadowplay and the other in-game overlay features that are included with it.

1. Go to the icon tray on the bottom right of your screen and double-click the NVIDIA Icon.
   
2. Once GeForce Experience opens, click the cogwheel in the top-right corner, next to your username.
3. In the General tab, scroll down and find In-Game Overlay
4. Disable it.
   

Shadowplay is now inactive. Restart your computer, launch Discord, and start a stream. Ask your friends whether or not they are now able to hear your stream’s audio.

If this doesn’t help, you can enable the overlay again by following the same steps.

Fix 6: Update Your Audio Drivers

If all else fails and if you still can’t hear your friend’s stream, it is a good idea to update your audio drivers.

This might seem complicated at first, but if you follow the guide below, you will be able to update your drivers easily.

Method 1

1. Search for Device Manager in the Start Menu and open it
2. Expand Audio input and outputs, right-click your speakers/headphones, and select update driver
   
3. On the new window, select Search automatically for drivers.

In just a few minutes, Windows will likely automatically discover a recently updated driver and complete the installation procedure on your behalf.

If Windows can’t find a suitable driver, you can try using an alternative, manual method. You’ll need to use CPU-Z, which is free software that can be used to detect your hardware automatically.

Method 2

1. Download CPU-Z (portable ZIP)
2. Extract the zip, open the application, and click the Mainboard tab
3. In Mainboard, look for the Manufacturer and Model
   With the information about the model and manufacturer of your motherboard, you can search for the correct model and manually download the appropriate audio driver.
4. Search for your model on Google and open the official product page from motherboard manufacturers such as MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, ASRock, Biostar, and others.
5. On the official product page, find the Support page.
   
   The example image above is an MSI motherboard, and the support page is on the top right.
6. From there, select Drivers, look for Audio/On-Board Audio drivers, then download the latest version.
   
7. Launch the setup file, carefully follow the installation instructions, and restart your computer

By finishing step 7, you have successfully updated to the newest audio driver.

Try entering a screen share/stream on Discord and check whether or not you’re still experiencing audio issues.

By trying these six methods of repairing stream audio on Discord, you shouldn’t encounter major problems in the future. If you do, you can always return to these fixes.

If, by chance, you are still unable to fix your problem even after attempting these solutions, the most suitable action for you to take is to directly reach out to Discord customer support.