[Fixed] Discord Picking Up Game Audio‍

Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Sep 03, 2024

Discord is a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) chat application that is used by gamers worldwide. It’s great not only for gaming with your friends, but also collaborating with your team on an important project. Discord’s unending slew of features and functionality, like custom servers, voice channels, and ability to personalise to a high level makes it a fantastic all-round communication app.

While Discord’s functionality extends much beyond sending plain text or voice messages, it is not devoid of certain technical glitches. One such issue faced by many Discord users is that when they’re chatting with other server members on a voice channel while playing games, Discord can at times pick up game audio.

So, in this article, we break down the issue, list out possible causes for Discord picking up game audio and how to fix it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tl, dr; how to stop disable game audio on Discord

If you’re playing a game while also speaking to other players on a Discord voice channel, here’s how to stop Discord from picking up game audio and relaying it on the chat:

Right-click on the volume icon on the taskbar > ‘Open Sound Settings’ > ‘Related Settings’ > ‘Sound Control Panel’

Next, open the ‘Recording’ tab > right-click on ‘Stereo Mix’ and select ‘Disable’
Launch Discord, and under ‘Voice & Video’ in ‘User Settings’, set your headphone as the default output device

Reasons why Discord might be picking up game audio

Discord picking up game audio while gaming is most likely due to audio settings or drivers on your computer:

Audio settings on your PC: In your computer’s audio settings, if the “Stereo mix” function is enabled, the sound from the speakers could blend with the input (microphone) sounds, leading the in-game audio to be heard from the mic. Further, the issue might also be caused if your mic is not set as the default input device.

Outdated drivers: Having outdated or the wrong drivers installed for your audio input or output devices can also lead to this problem.

How to stop Discord from picking up game audio

Here are some ways to fix your sound issues on Discord:

1. Set your audio input and output devices on Discord

Step 1. In Discord, go to ‘User Settings’ (the gear icon in the bottom-left)

Step 2. In the left sidebar, scroll down to ‘Voice & Video’ and click on it
Step 3. Set the correct Input and Output devices - if they’re set to ‘Default’ and you’re experiencing audio issues while gaming, select them manually

2. Check your audio jack plug-in

Step 1. If you have a USB connector for your audio devices, make sure that they are plugged into the CPU, and not the keyboard
Step 2. Try plugging your headphone & speakers into other audio jacks

3. Disable ‘Stereo Mix’ in your computer’s audio settings

Step 1. Right-click on the volume icon on the taskbar, and select ‘Open Sound Settings’

Step 2. In the dialog-box, click on ‘Sound Control Panel’ under ‘Related Settings’

Step 3. Go to the ‘Recording’ tab

Step 4. Right-click on ‘Stereo Mix’ and select ‘Disable’
Step 5. Now, launch Discord, and go to ‘Voice & Video’ in ‘User Settings’
Step 6. Set your headphone as the output device

4. Change Microphone Settings

Step 1. Go to the Sound Control Panel as described in the above steps
Step 2. Go to ‘Sound’ > ‘Recording’

Step 3. Right-click on ‘Microphone’, and select ‘Properties’

Step 4. Go to ‘Listen’, and uncheck ‘Listen To This Device’
Step 5. In the ‘Advanced’ tab, make sure the options under ‘Exclusive’ are checked

Step 6. Click on ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ to save changes, and launch Discord

5. Update your sound drivers

Step 1. Press ‘Windows + R’ on your keyboard to launch Run
Step 2. Enter ‘devmgmt.msc’ in the Open field and click ‘OK’

Step 3. The Device Manager window will open up
Step 4. Click on arrow next to the ‘Sound, Video, and Game Controllers’ section to expand it

Step 5. Right-click on the audio device, and click on ‘Update Driver’

Step 6. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest drivers for that device
Step 7. Follow the same steps and update drivers for all your audio devices (mic, speakers, etc.)

Note:

If updating your drivers hasn’t fixed the issue of Discord picking up game audio, you can try uninstalling sound drivers altogether and letting Windows install them on restart.
To do this, in the device manager, right-click on your audio devices and select ‘Uninstall’ > ‘Yes’, and follow the instructions to uninstall them.
Now, restart your computer. Windows will automatically install fresh drivers while rebooting.

6. Disable audio output drivers

Step 1. Right-click on the volume icon on the taskbar, and select ‘Open Sound Settings’
Step 2. Click on ‘Sound Control Panel’
Step 3. In the ‘Sound’ window, click on the ‘Playback’ tab
Step 4. Right-click on the Realtek(R) audio speaker and click on ‘Disable’
Step 5. Also right-click on NVIDIA High Definition and select ‘Disable’
Step 6. Select ‘Apply’ > ‘OK’ to save changes, and exit the Sound Control Panel

7. Uninstall and Reinstall Discord

If Discord is still picking up game audio despite having tried all the above fixes, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling a fresh version of Discord. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Press the ‘Windows key + R’ to bring up Run, and enter ‘appwiz.cpl’ in the ‘Open’ field to bring up the Windows uninstaller

Step 2. Under ‘Apps and Features’, type in ‘discord’ in the search field
Step 3. Select the ‘Discord’ application, and click on ‘Uninstall’

Step 4. After Discord has been uninstalled, open Run > type in ‘%appdata’ > Click ‘OK’

Step 5. Select the ‘Discord’ folder, and delete it

Step 6. Next, open Run again > type in ‘%localappdata’ > Click ‘OK’

Step 7. In the Local folder, select the subfolder named ‘Discord’ and delete it

Step 8. After restarting Windows, go to the Discord website, and download the latest version of Discord
Step 9. Download and Install Discord by following the instructions