Discord is a proprietary freeware VoIP application and digital distribution platform designed for video gaming communities; it specializes in text, image, video and audio communication between users in a chat channel. Discord runs on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and in web browsers. As of December 2018, there are over 200 million unique users of the software.

Discord

Discord uses a microphone as an input to send your voice to other users and is very beneficial for gamers. However, quite recently there have been many reports of Discord sending the game audio along with your voice. This means that Discord picks up the in-game audio as well as your voice and continuously projects it to other users. In this article, we will tell you the causes of this problem and provide you with viable solutions to easily solve this problem.

What Causes Discord to Pick Up Game Audio?

The Cause of the issue is usually related to certain sound settings or in some cases the sound drivers, therefore, some of the most common causes of this issue are:

  • Sound Settings:If in the sound settings the input device or the output device is selected as "stereo mix" it prompts the output (your speakers) and the input (your microphone) sounds to mix. This can cause a problem where the in-game audio is heard from the mic.
  • Sound Drivers:It is also possible that maybe the correct drivers are not installed or maybe the drivers that are installed are corrupted which may be triggering this problem.
  • Wrong Plug-in: Lastly, another common trigger for the problem is when the Headphones are connected in the keyboard. Some keyboards provide USB connectors for other devices to plug in and due to certain bugs, it can cause this issue.

Solution 1: Disabling "Stereo Mix" Setting

The stereo mix setting is used to send the input sound of the computer as output. It has no use while using Discord or gaming. In this step, we will be disabling the option in both Windows sound settings and Discord's Settings.

  1. Right-Click on the "Volume" button on the bottom right side of the taskbar
    Volume Button on the bottom Right-Hand side of the taskbar
  2. Select the "Sounds" button
    Selecting the Sounds button
  3. In the new window that pops up click on the "Recording" option
    Recording Option
  4. In the Recording option, you will see a Stereo Mix playback device
    Stereo Mix option
  5. Right–Click on it and select "Disable"
    Disabling Stereo Mix option
  6. Now open the Discord application
  7. Click on the "User Settings" icon
    Clicking on the user settings option
  8. Select the "Voice and Video Settings" option
    Changing Input and Output Device settings
  9. Make sure that you select your Headphones as the "Output Device" and your microphone as the "Input Device".
    Note:If you cannot find your headphones or your microphone's name then select windows default if you have already disabled the "Stereo Mix" option in your sound settings.

Now try to see if the problem is solved if this step does not solve the problem then move on towards the next one.

Solution 2: Plugging-In To A Different Audio Jack

Sometimes, if you are using the USB plugin or the Audio Jack that is fitted inside your keyboard, it may cause the problem. In this solution, we will plug the audio chacks to another port.

  1. Unplug both the Headphones and the Microphone from the Keyboard
    Keyboard
  2. Plugin the Microphone and the Headphones into the audio jacks on the motherboard
  3. Check to see if solves the issue.

If this step does not solve your issue, then the problem must be with the settings of your drivers; therefore, move on towards the next solution.

Solution 3: Changing Microphone Settings

There are certain Microphone settings which when enabled activate your microphone at all times and therefore this can cause the issue with the input being mixed with the output. For this

  1. Right–Click on the Speaker Icon in the bottom right of the taskbar
    Volume Button on the bottom Right-Hand side of the taskbar
  2. Select the "Sounds" option
    Selecting the Sounds button
  3. Go to the "Recording" tab
    Recording Option
  4. Right-Click on your microphone and select "Properties"
    Right-Clicking on the microphone
  5. In the Microphone Properties, click on the "Listen" Tab
  6. Make sure the "Listen to this Device" box is unchecked
    Unchecking the box
  7. Now click on the advanced tab
  8. Make sure both the options under the "Exclusive" heading are checked
    Making Sure both options are checked under the Advanced Tab
  9. Apply your settings and check to see if this solves your problem.

Solution 4: Disabling Sound Drivers

The very last option that we can resort to is to disable all the drivers that are installed except for the "Windows Default Driver" for which

  1. Right–Click on the Volume icon in the bottom right hand
    Volume Button on the bottom Right-Hand side of the taskbar
  2. Select the "Sounds" option
    Selecting the Sounds button
  3. Select the "Playback" tab
    Clicking on the Playback option
  4. Right–Click and disable both "Realtek" and "Nvidia High Definition" Drivers.
  5. Restart your PC and check to see if this solves your problem.

Solution 5: Uninstalling Drivers

In some cases, the drivers that you are using might be the cause behind this issue. Therefore, in this step, we will be uninstalling these drivers from our computer completely. For that:

  1. Press "Windows' + "R" to open the Run prompt.
  2. Type in "Devmgmt.msc" and press "Enter".
    Type devmgmt.msc and Press Enter to Open Device Manager
  3. Double click on the "Sound, Video and Game Controllers" option and right-click on the sound driver that you are currently using.
  4. Select the "Uninstall' button and confirm any on-screen prompts.
    Clicking on the "Uninstall Device" option
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall this driver completely from your computer.
  6. Restart the computer and it will automatically replace these drivers with the stock ones.
  7. Check to see if the issue persists.

Photo of Kevin Arrows

Kevin is a dynamic and self-motivated information technology professional, with a Thorough knowledge of all facets pertaining to network infrastructure design, implementation and administration. Superior record of delivering simultaneous large-scale mission critical projects on time and under budget.