Discord Not Working: How to Fix It?

Discord Not Working

Has your Discord failed to work unexpectedly? Read on to learn about discord failures and how to fix them.

Key Content:

  • Fix Discord Not Working On PC
  • Fix Discord Not Working On Phone

Discord is a free voice and text chat app for gamers. It comes with features like screen sharing, video calls, and direct messages. The app has more than 200 million users worldwide and is used by people from all walks of life.

Streamers often use it to communicate with their audience or gamers as a way of communicating with friends while playing games.

But what happens when Discord isn't working? Despite being a stable application, you may have received the “Discord not working” notification severally, and before you know it, all communications with your friends are cut short.

There are many reasons for this issue, so knowledge of a single troubleshooting procedure may not always work. Read on as we unpack different troubleshooting methods and many other things you should know about fixing a stopped Discord.


Why is Your Discord Not Working?

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If you are a regular user of Discord, then you might be familiar with the common issues that could happen to your account. One such issue is when your discord is not working or not connecting properly with your friends and family. Some of the many reasons that could be causing this include:

  • Your Internet Connection Might Be Down

This can be checked by opening a new browser window and using it to browse the web. If the connection is working, then you will be able to access a few sites. If not, then check your router or modem for any issues.

  • Discord Might Have Been Blocked by Another Program

You may have blocked the app by mistake or installed an antivirus that is blocking it. To fix this problem, uninstall any antivirus software and reinstall it.

  • Damaged Files

Discord may have been damaged because of a problem with files on your device or due to interference from another program running on your device. To fix this problem, restart your device and then try opening Discord again.

  • Windows Related Issues

There might be some problem with your computer itself. For example, it could be updated schedules or probably incorrectly customized system updates, such as setting manual updates instead of automatic or if you've disabled automatic updates entirely on your device.

  • Discord Could be Down for Maintenance

Discord does maintenance on its servers and apps from time to time. This can be for any number of reasons, such as:

  • Server maintenance. This happens when Discord needs to update or upgrade its servers. It's usually announced on their status page or Twitter account.
  • App updates and bug fixes. Sometimes Discord needs to push out an update that fixes bugs or other issues within their app. These updates happen fairly frequently (sometimes even more than once a day), so don't be surprised if yours gets updated often!
  • Hardware failure/outage. Occasionally something goes wrong with their hardware, and they need to take it offline while they troubleshoot what went wrong and fix it.

Check Your Discord Server Status Before Fixing

Check Your Discord Server Status Before Fixing

It is quite common that Discord tends to fail to work at the most unexpected and busiest moment, whether in a game, business, or organization. As a result, it's quite common for any administrator to attempt restarting the program to get it working.

Unfortunately, restarting the program may never be a solution; the best thing to do immediately after your Discord fails is to check the Discord server at their public website. (Discordstatus.com).

Sometimes when the program fails, the problem is often beyond what you thought might have been the cause, and so at such times, it's best to visit the site and check for any updates on possible bugs and services about Discord.

You can also check the platform's official Twitter channel for any reports or updates on possible causes of failed Discord programs.


Fix Discord Not Working On PC  

Discord Not Working on PC is a common issue that most users face. However, if you are one of them, then you need not worry because we have got easy solutions for this. So, Discord won't open notifications to Discord infinite loop, among many other failure or error notifications you can receive; here are different fixes for all of them:

Clear/Wipe Out the Local AppData folder in Windows

The local AppData folder in your windows PC stores system cache files and settings for all applications on the PC. So, once full, the cache files will affect your Discord's normal operations because the application won't have anywhere to store its cache. So clearing the folder should help make space for Discord's usual operation.

To clear the cache:

Step 1: Touch the [Windows + R] keys.

Step 2: In the utility bar, enter [%appdata%], then touch the [OK] button to be redirected to the AppData folder.

Step 3: Scroll through to find the [Discord] folder.

Step 4: Right-click on the folder, then touch the [Delete] option.

Step 5: Restart your PC and check for any changes with Discord.


Close Discord Using the Command Prompt

Chances are that when your Discord application failed to work, it brought some part of your computer's user interface to a standstill, so the computer might not be responding to any clicks you make.

You may need to force close the application and restart it. Here's how to close Discord for you to restart it again. You can do this by:

Step 1: Touch the [Windows + R] buttons.

Windows R Step 2: Enter the [Cmd] command and tap the [Ctrl + Shift + Enter] to give the next command with administrative options.T

Step 3: Type in the command [taskkill /F /IM discord.exe]

taskkill

Step 4: Close the cmd run space and try opening the Discord app again.


Launch/Run Discord from Its Storage Location

Launching Discord straight from its installation folder is believed to help in beating any overlaying effects that stop it from working. Here is how to do it:

Step 1: Launch the [File explorer].

Step 2: Go to the following folder where the user is your local account username [C:\ProgramData\%user%\Discord].

Step 3: Double tap on the [Discord.exe] file to run the program.

Step 4: If it fails to execute, right-click on the same folder and select the [Run as Administrator option].

Run as Administrator option

Step 5: This way, you will try to make Discord run from administrative commands.


Manually Close All Background Apps

Unless you have very important running applications, you should close them all and try running Discord again. Of course, this will help you clearly understand why the program is failing.

So to close these applications:

Step 1: Press the [Windows + I] keys to go to the settings homepage.

Step 2: Tap on the [Privacy] tab.

Step 3: Select the [Background apps] from the side menu.

Step 4: Switch off the [Let apps run in the background] toggle.

Step 5: Restart your computer and check for any changes once you launch the discord app.


Disable Proxies

If you’re using a proxy server to access the internet, you need to turn it off before using Discord. So as much as proxies are an important security feature, it may be necessary to disable the proxy if it could be part of a failed Discord Application. You can disable the proxies by following these steps:

Step 1: First, go to your computer's [Settings] homepage.

Step 2: Locate and click on the [Network & Internet] settings option.

Network & Internet Step 3: Next, touch the [Proxy] option and toggle off the [Automatically detect settings] and the [Use a proxy server] options.

Use a proxy server


Third-party Apps Altering Discord's Normal Operations

Since it is an extended and widely used application, Discord overlays over several apps, whether to voice chat or guarantee direct communication with your friends. However, its failure to function might have resulted from windows antiviruses and firewalls blocking prolonged background running programs.

So the best thing to do is to deactivate your antivirus and restart Discord, then see if it will work this time round.


Resetting the Domain Name System in Windows 10

So, if Discord's failure to work is an internal problem from within your computer setup, the network configuration may have a hand in this. Therefore, the only way you can be sure whether it is indeed the cause for the same is to reset the DNS in Windows 10.

Here is how to do it:

Step 1: First, close all Discord processes using the [Task Manager].

Discord processes

Step 2: Next, touch the [Windows + R] keys.

Step 3: Next, type in [CMD] and press the [OK] or [Enter]  key.

Step 4: Once the command prompt page launches, type in [ipconfig/flushdns], then touch the [Enter] key.

ipconfig

Step 5: This way, you will have to reset the DNS configuration. Now, try restarting Discord and check for any differences from the previous attempts.


Update or Reinstall Discord

Have you tried the different fixes here, and all have failed? You may need to update your Discord program manually. You can reinstall the application from the Discord official website or the Discord download page.

Update or Reinstall Discord

However, you must be aware of your system's category, 32-bit or 64-bit, so choose the right version for your computer before proceeding with the download.


Fix Discord Not Working On Phone 

If you're having trouble using Discord on your phone, here are some steps you can take to fix it.

Update Discord

First of all, make sure that your Discord app is up to date. To do this, open the App Store on your device and search for “Discord.” Then, click the “Update” button next to the Discord app. If you don’t see the update button, it means that you already have the latest version of Discord installed on your device.


Re-install Discord

Re-install Discord

If updating didn’t work for you, then re-installing Discord could also solve this problem. Before you delete the application from your phone, check Discord's main communication platforms to ensure you are not trying to repair an outage beyond your reach.

If there are no communications about any outages or bug fixes, you can go ahead and delete the app and then reinstall it back.


Clean Cached Data

As long as your phone has no sufficient storage space, Discord will not function as expected in the device. If you are unsure about whether your device has sufficient space to load the application, the best way you can be sure is by checking your device's immediate storage state.

Step 1: On Android, navigate to settings, the device, then storage.

storage

Step 2: On iPhone, go to settings, scroll through for general, then iPhone storage.

iPhone storage

Step 3: To clear the cache, you'll need to open the [Settings] application, locate and click on [Discord] from the line of apps, then tap on the [Clear Cache] option.

Step 4: Rerun the Discord application and check for any changes.


Conclusion

When you find out your Discord is Not Working, don't panic. Before using these fixes, check if your computer is running slow and let it quit all unused programs. Sometimes it takes a while to see if your efforts are paying off and if you're experiencing the results you want. You should give it some time, especially if you've changed your computer or installed new drivers.

After that, it wouldn't hurt to uninstall Discord, clear up some space on your hard drive, and then reinstall Discord to see if that fixes things. If those solutions don't resolve the issue, then your next step would likely be to contact Discord support.