How To Restart Discord

Discord is an excellently optimized communication platform on both phones and desktop computers.

However, no application is perfect, so it can occasionally freeze, display errors, or suffer bugs.

To help you resolve any issues that might occur, this guide will show you how to restart Discord.

Restarting The Desktop App

There are a couple of ways you can restart or quit the desktop application of Discord.

Method 1: Top-Right Close Button

The most familiar method is to simply click on the cross (X) located at the top-right of Discord. This button can also be found in any application window in Microsoft Windows.

However, by default, the nearby button minimizes the Discord app to your tray instead of closing it completely.

To prevent that from happening, open Discord’s User Settings and then go into Windows settings.

Look for the Minimize to Tray option and make sure it is disabled. When you press the X button with it turned off, Discord will close completely instead of minimizing.

With that done, simply start the app again, and your issue should be resolved.

Method 2: Close From System Tray

If the previous method doesn’t appear to work for you, you can also try to close Discord completely from the notification area.

The system tray is part of the taskbar found on every Windows system. It refers specifically to the icons located in the bottom right, next to the time and date.

If you click the small upward arrow, you should be able to see Discord’s logo if the application is running. Right-click it, and press Quit Discord.

Once you have exited Discord, open the program again and check if the application is working properly.

Method 3: Close With Task Manager

When an app stops working or breaks, it can greatly affect how well Windows functions. In certain cases, you might not even have the ability to open the taskbar to manually close Discord.

The best solution is to use the Task Manager. The fastest way to open Task Manager is by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Escape on your keyboard.

You can also press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select Task Manager.

If you don’t have access to a keyboard or some of these keys aren’t functioning properly, don’t worry. Microsoft has provided another option! Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager.

Once Task Manager is open, be sure to expand it by clicking More Details. The button is located at the bottom-left of the window.

In the Processes tab, sort by name and find Discord. Select it, then press End Task or simply right-click Discord and end the task. This should completely close the app but, just to be sure, you can scroll through the list to try and find any other process named Discord.

Alternatively, you can keep pressing D on your keyboard to cycle through each process, starting with the letter D.

Once every process related to the desktop app has been closed, you can launch the application again. All your problems should be gone.

Method 4: Restarting The Computer

If none of these methods fix your problem or you can’t even access the Task Manager or system tray, the simplest solution is to restart your computer entirely.

Open the Start Menu and shut down or restart. If that isn’t possible, use the power button on your computer to manually turn it off.

Once your computer has rebooted, open Discord and check whether or not everything is working as it should.

These are all of the methods you could try using on the desktop app. If you prefer to use the browser app, keep reading.

Restarting The Browser App

If you prefer using the browser app, you can restart it by closing the Discord tab or by closing your browser.

Once you have exited your browser and reopened it, press Ctrl + Shift + T, and it will open your recently closed tabs, including Discord.

Test the browser application again and check whether or not your issues have been fixed.

If the Discord tab has frozen your browser, you might have to use the approach described in Method 3 and close the program via Task Manager.

Restarting Discord On Phone

Many Discord users prefer to stay mobile and use the application exclusively on their phones or alongside the desktop app. Whether you use an Android device or an iPhone, Discord is intuitive, well optimized, and easy to use.

Although Discord is highly reliable, it is worth learning how to restart it on your mobile device.

Android

There are multiple ways to close an app on Android. The quickest method is to press the menu button and then swipe away the app you want to close. In this case, swipe Discord away.

If you don’t use the traditional navigation bar on Android, you’ll need to drag from the bottom upwards and then hold there for a few moments to see your list of apps.

However, this method does not always force apps to close, which is why you might still encounter issues. If this is the case, you will need to do it manually.

On Android, drag down the top bar, then press the cogwheel to go into settings. Scroll down and find Apps. In this section, open Discord, press Force Stop, and confirm.

After force-stopping the application, open it again, and your issue should be resolved.

iOS

If you are not on Android, the process on iOS is pretty similar. Here’s a quick guide to help you.

To compel close an app, you need to enter the App Switcher. This can be accomplished by dragging it from the bottom towards the middle of the screen and then releasing it.

Once you see cards of your various open apps, swipe up on the Discord app, and it will be forced to close.

Whether you are on Android, iOS, or Windows, you now know what to do if Discord needs restarting. If your issue occurs while trying to update Discord, we suggest checking out this guide.