Discord Overlay Not Working – Best Ways to Fix It

Jack

By Jack

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Discord Overlay Not Working

Despite the effectiveness of the Discord app, many users have reported its Discord overlay feature is not working.

The chat overlay doesn’t show up during the game sessions, and some users reported the issue occurring with every game. It can be very annoying, but the positive news is that you can handle it.

We will help you fix Discord with the ten best methods we have included in this article. Read on.

By the way, here are how to report someone on Discord, Text to speech on Discord, and fix the Discord overlay not working for your reference.

Understand Discord Overlay and the Issues That Disable It

The Discord app is known for its amazing features and communication services. It comes with a feature of Discord overlay that enables communication between different Discord users even during a full-screen game.

This feature is the one that suffers glitches at the hands of many issues like:

  • The complex settings and configurations associated with the game overlay feature
  • The location where the overlay is saved
  • Hardware acceleration meddling with app functioning
  • Antivirus mishandling
  • Scaled-up Windows display
  • Internal faults in the software of the Discord app
  • Voice connection tempered

Ten Best Fixes for the Discord Overlay Not Working

We suggest you give a try system reboot or the Discord app reboot first. This can solve minor glitches and save you from unnecessary hassle.

1. Turn the Game Overlay On

Perform a double-check even if you think you turned on the option. It is important because you will be required to look into the settings and overlay of the game and make some changes. Follow the given steps:

  • Launch the Discord application.
  • Open the User Settings with the gear icon. You can find it on the right of the avatar.
Turn the Game overlay on
  • Click on the option Overlay in the left window pane.
  • Toggle the option Enable in-game overlay. This button is present in the right pane at the top.
Turn the Game overlay on
  • Go to the left pane and select the option Game Activity.
  • Ensure to turn on the overlay for the particular game you have played. The games with overlays turned on can be found in the green box at the right window pane. The overlay status turned on can be seen adjacent to the option of your game.
  • You must turn it on for the games that don’t have their overlay turned on. Hit the Monitor button next to your game to do so.
Turn the Game overlay on to fix  Discord overlay not working
  • If the game is not present in the list of the games provided, then you have the option of adding it there. Hit the tab. Add it! Open the right window pane and choose your game from the menu that drops down. Select Add Game. Then turn the overlays on for all such games by following the process mentioned above.
Turn the Game overlay on
Turn the Game overlay on

See if the method fixed the Discord overlay not working.

2. Disable Discord Hardware Acceleration

The Discord has a feature named Hardware acceleration that makes the Discord smoother by using the GPU of the PC. This feature only sometimes poses as the major culprit causing the Discord error.

Follow the steps that we give for turning the hardware acceleration off:

  • Launch the Discord application.
  • Open the User Settings with the gear icon. You can find it on the right of the avatar.
  • Click on the option Appearance in the left window pane.
  • Navigate down inside the right pane and open the Advanced section. Find the option of Hardware Acceleration and click over it.
  • Toggle the option of Hardware Acceleration off.
Disable Discord hardware acceleration
  • A confirmation box will appear at this stage. Hit Okay. Now the Discord app will get rebooted. See if the Discord overlay is not working and restarts.
Disable Discord hardware acceleration to fix  Discord overlay not working

3. Change the Overlay Location

The location of the overlay can be another probable cause, as the overlay location is changeable. You might have changed the location of the overlay and accidentally placed it off-screen. This makes the overlay invisible.

The only option that you are left with is relocating the overlay, and the steps given below will help you in doing so:

  • Shut down the game and then launch Discord.
  • Press the keys Ctrl + Shift + I together and hold them for some time. This will open up a console with javascript on the right side of the screen.
  • Click over the arrow icon >>, which is located on that console at the right corner on the top.
  • Click the option of Application in the newly launched list.
Change the Overlay location
  • You will find an option for Local Storage in the left panel that was just created. Hit a double-click over it. You may also just tap the arrow next to the option Local Storage.
  • Now you will see another entry that will be created newly under the same section of Local Storage. The name of this entry would be https://discordapp.com. Hit a click over it.
  • Find the option of OverlayStore or OverlayStoreV2 in the mid of the column Keys. Hit a right-click over it.
  • Hit Delete.
Change the Overlay location to fix  Discord overlay not working
  • Reboot the app Discord, and lastly.

Run the game again and see if the defaults are restored and if the ‘Discord overlay not working’ can be moved.

4. Give Admin Status to the Discord

Many times, the problem might happen as a result of Discord not running as the administrator. Then, you need to grant the Discord app’s admin privileges and launch it.

Follow the steps below to do that:

  • Hit a right-click over the shortcut icon of the Discord app. In the list that opens up, click Properties.
Give Admin status to the Discord
  • A pop-up window will now emerge and scroll down to find the tab Compatibility. Find the option Run this program as an administrator and tick the box adjacent to it. Hit OK, lastly.
Give Admin status to the Discord to fix  Discord overlay not working
  • Go back to the desktop and double-click over the Discord app’s shortcut icon.
  • Open the game again.

This will solve the problem altogether, most probably.

5. Put Discord into the Whitelist of the Antivirus.

If you have a third-party application like antivirus software installed on the PC, the application may meddle with the functioning of other applications running on the computer.

The antivirus might be causing interruption to the working of Discord by mistakenly detecting it as suspicious malware and blocking it further. The overlay is thereby hurdled and doesn’t function the right way.

This problem can be solved by ensuring to put the Discord app into the whitelist of the antivirus app.

6. Reinstall the Discord Software

If you have failed to run the Discord overlay not working by every other means, then uninstalling Discord and downloading it back might be a good option. Follow the steps below to do so:

  • Start with deleting the Discord first. Press the keys Windows+R together to launch the Run box. Enter the command control into it and then hit Enter. This will launch the Control Panel of the PC.
control
  • Open the section Category in the panel and click the tab Uninstall a program.
Reinstall the Discord software
  • On the option of Discord, hit double-click to uninstall it.
Reinstall the Discord software to fix  Discord overlay not working
  • Restart the PC.
  • Visit the official website of Discord and then download the most recent version of the app available there. Install the app properly on the PC.
  • Launch the app. Now go back and open the game that was being troubled. Add the game to Discord.
  • You will also need to activate the feature of Enable the in-game overlay associated with the game. Check out the first method to do so.

This must remove the error; if it doesn’t, try other solutions.

7. Adjust the Display

Many users reported that the problem was caused by the display settings where the display was set to 105% or other. This disables you from seeing the overlay.

To fix this issue, you can try to reset the display and set 100% as default, and this would most probably resolve the Discord overlay not working:

  • Press the Windows+I keys together.
  • Click the option System.
  • Open the section Scale and Layout. Choose the option 100% (Recommended) in the drop-down menu.
Adjust the display

After resetting the scales, try running the game once again and see if the error is gone.

8. Diagnose Any Software Interruption

Many applications running together on the PC might sometimes interrupt each other’s functionality. This can happen to Discord, too, and lead to the Discord overlay not working.

To get rid of this issue, then find the notorious applications. These applications are the ones that have certain overlay features or that have access to the microphone of the PC. You must try to disable them temporarily to see if that fixes the issue.

Note: Programs like the Screen recording app are the ones that mostly interfere with the running of the Discord overlay.

By the way, let’s see Discord text formatting.

9. Update the Discord App

The Discords keep getting updates regularly, and there is a high chance that any of these updates might have caused the bug. It will be a confirmed case if you have been experiencing the Discord overlay not working after any update.

This can be your last resort when no other solution worked out in your favor. You can update the Discord app yourself too.

10. Fixing the Discord App through a VPN

The voice connection issues that occur while playing any game are super annoying, but fixing them is not a big task, and all you require is a VPN connection.

Discord runs only on VPNs with a UDP or User Datagram Protocol. If you are unsure which VPN service you shall pick, then we advise you to go for NordVPN.

NordVPN helps get a secure, stable, and superfast internet connection anywhere, with some clicks. The bonus is that you just need a single NordVPN account to connect a maximum of six devices.

Setting a VPN Connection on the Windows PC:

  • Visit the official webpage of NordVPN software. The website will direct you to select a suitable plan and create an account. You will need to follow the instructions as they appear on the site to do this.
  • On the Windows PC, open the download page of NordVPN for downloading and installing it.
  • Launch the program. Enter the ID and password of the NordVPN account that you created. Hit the option Sign in.
Fixing the Discord overlay not working through a VPN
  • Hit the tab Quick Connect to the recommended servers automatically. You can even choose any specific VPN server by searching for it or clicking the country pin.
Fixing the Discord through a VPN

There you go, with the voice connection restored!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: Why is my Discord overlay not showing up in-game?

There could be several reasons for the Discord overlay not showing up in-game. Try the following solutions:

  • Update Discord and your graphics drivers.
  • Enable the overlay in Discord settings.
  • Check game compatibility with Discord overlay.
  • Disable Discord hardware acceleration.
  • Verify antivirus and firewall settings.
  • Run Discord as an administrator.
  • Reinstall Discord if necessary.

Q2: Can I customize the appearance of the Discord overlay?

Yes, you can customize the appearance of the Discord overlay. In the Discord settings, you can change the overlay’s position, size, and opacity to suit your preferences.

Q3: Does the Discord overlay affect game performance?

The impact of the Discord overlay on game performance is generally minimal. However, if you experience any performance issues while using the overlay, you can try disabling hardware acceleration in Discord settings.

Q4: Is the Discord overlay available on all platforms?

No, the Discord overlay is currently available only on Windows. It is not supported on macOS or Linux.

Q5: Are there any alternative overlay solutions for Discord?

While Discord provides its own overlay feature, there are also third-party overlay solutions available. However, it’s important to ensure that such overlays are compatible with both Discord and your games before using them.

Conclusion

We hope that these fixes will prove helpful to you in restoring the Discord overlay not working on your gaming apps so that you can enjoy chatting while gaming easily.

If you know of any other fix, share it with us and tell us your troubleshooting Discord experience with our methods.

Jack
Jack

Ten years of experience in information and computer technology. Passionate about electronic devices, smartphones, computers, and modern technology.

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