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Microphone not working in Discord

Desktop app, browser and mobile. The green ring around your avatar tells you a lot — read on.

First, test it.
The mic test shows in seconds whether the device works at all — that decides which steps below apply.
Open the mic test

Three places can block a microphone or camera, and all three must say yes: the operating system (privacy settings), the browser or app (site permission or device picker) and the hardware (mute switch, shutter, cable). Work through them in that order.

Check the microphone test first. If the meter moves there, Discord is the problem; go straight to step 1.

  1. Input Device. User Settings (gear) › Voice & Video › Input Device: pick your mic by name instead of Default. Press Let’s Check (mic test) and speak — the bar should fill.
  2. Input Sensitivity. If Automatically determine input sensitivity is on and the bar never turns green, switch it off and drag the slider left until your normal voice passes the threshold. Too far left and background noise transmits; find the middle.
  3. Input Mode. If it’s Push to Talk, you must hold the bound key; switch to Voice Activity if you don’t want that.
  4. Are you server-muted or deafened? A red crossed mic in the bottom-left means self-muted; a red crossed headphone means deafened (you also won’t hear others). A mic with a red line next to your name in the channel can also mean a moderator muted you — ask them.
  5. Krisp / noise suppression. Voice & Video › Noise Suppression: try switching from Krisp to Standard or off. Krisp can remove a soft voice entirely.
  6. Windows exclusive mode. Some games and apps take exclusive control of the mic. Windows Sound settings › More sound settings › Recording › your mic › Properties › Advanced › untick Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
  7. OS permission. Windows: Settings › Privacy & security › Microphone › all three switches on (Discord is a desktop app). macOS: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone › Discord on.
  8. Audio subsystem. Voice & Video › Advanced › Audio Subsystem: switch between Standard and Legacy; Discord restarts. This fixes a surprising number of “mic worked yesterday” cases.
  9. Reset Voice Settings (bottom of Voice & Video) returns everything to defaults — use it if you have changed many things.

Discord in the browser

discord.com needs microphone permission in the browser (lock icon at the left of the address bar). If you denied it once, the browser remembers: reset the site permission.

Discord on phone

iPhone: Settings › Discord › Microphone on. Android: Settings › Apps › Discord › Permissions › Microphone. In Discord’s mobile app, Voice & Video settings also have their own Input Mode and sensitivity.

Did it work?

Run the mic test again. If the device now registers here, every app that has permission will see it too.

Related guides

Mic not working in ZoomNobody can hear you, or Zoom says “Unable to detect your microphone”Mic not working in TeamsFor the new Teams app and Teams in a browser, on Windows and Mac.Mic not working in Google MeetMeet is a web app: the browser’s permission and the OS privacy switch for the browser are what matter.Mic not working on Windows 11Laptop array, USB mic, headset or Bluetooth — the same order of checks finds the fault.Mic not working on MacMacBook internal mic, USB or Bluetooth headset, external interface.

Questions, answered

The green ring lights up but nobody hears me.

Discord is detecting input — so the problem is on their side (deafened, your user volume turned down in their client: right-click your name › User Volume) or you are in a different voice channel than you think.

Discord works but friends say I sound robotic or cut out.

Switch Audio Subsystem (step 8), turn off Krisp, raise the voice channel bitrate if you are an admin, and move closer to your router or use a cable.