Discord Overlay Not Working – Troubleshooting Guide
Discord Overlay Error Resolved
- Updated Jan 4, 2023
- Software
- Answer
If you notice your Discord overlay not working, then you may need a guide to turn to. That’s where we come in. A Discord overlay error is one of the more common problems on the Discord platform, so this troubleshooting guide will be covering all the possible fixes.
The Discord overlay is useful as it lets you respond to chat notifications, make voice calls, and use the interface of the platform with greater ease whilst you’re still in-game. It’s frustrating when you lose that ease of use – you don’t want to keep alt-tabbing out of your favorite game every time you get a message, after all. The Discord overlay is also useful for streamers who wish to show who’s in their call.
If your Discord Overlay is not working or failing to appear while in-game, let us take you on a troubleshooting walkthrough will help you eliminate all of the potential causes one by one.
We have already covered the first four steps you should go through when troubleshooting Discord overlay in our How To Turn Off Discord Overlay guide. Rather than repeating the details of them here, have a quick look on that page for how to perform each check. The first four steps are as follows:
Method 1 – Run Discord As Administrator
Method 2 – Turn Off Discord Hardware Acceleration
Method 3 – Uninstall Discord
Method 4 – Check For Conflict With Third-Party Software
This guide will be dedicated to the other, more detailed steps that you should try in order to get the Discord Overlay functioning once more. We recommend that you try them in order.
Make Sure Other Versions Of Discord Are Disabled
If you have installed the PTB version of Discord at some point in the past it may be that your system is automatically running both the PTB version and the regular version of Discord, at the same time. This can lead to conflicts on your system, including causing the Discord overlay error.
Open Task Manager
Open Task Manager by pressing and holding CTRL + ALT + DELETE.
Processes Tab
Expand this out to show More details if need be and then look under the Processes tab.
End Task
If you see both versions of Discord running under Apps, right click on the one you aren’t using and select End Task.
Open the game
Boot up your game and see if the overlay is now working.
Rescale the Display
It may be that if you’ve changed the display scale of Windows that this conflicts with the Discord overlay, which frequently only functions at the standard, 100% display scale. If this is the reason, all you need to do is set it back to 100% and the Discord Overlay should once again function in game.
Click on The System Menu
Click on the System Menu (you can navigate to it by holding the Windows key and the I key)
Click on Display
Within the System Menu, click on Display.
Change Scale
On the right-hand side click on 100% under Scale and layout.
Restart The Game
Restart the game you were playing and see if the rescale has worked.
Move the Overlay
There is a possibility that the overlay is actually present, but it has somehow been accidentally moved off the screen. In order to ensure that the overlay returns to its default position, you need to go into the Javascript console and delete a file.
Open Discord
Ensure all games are closed and open Discord.
Open Javascript console
Press and hold the following keys to open the javascript console: CTRL +SHIFT + I
Select Application
Click on >> in the toolbar at the top of the console the select Application from the dropdown menu.
Local Storage
Click on Local Storage on the left-hand side and then on https:\\discordapp.com underneath it.
Delete OverlayStore
Under the Key column look for OverlayStore (sometimes called OverlayStoreV2) then right click on it and select Delete.
Restart Discord
Restart Discord and open up a game to see if the process has worked.
Allow Discord Through Windows Firewall
Windows firewall can sometimes conflict with programs like Discord, blocking certain features. To make sure that Discord has permission to be let through the firewall, go through the following steps.
Open Run
Press Windows + R to launch the Run function.
Open Control Panel
Type in Control Panel and click OK.
Windows Defender Firewall
Click on System and Security and then Windows Defender Firewall.
Allow App Through Firewall
Click Allow an app or feature through the Firewall on the left.
Change Settings
Click Change Settings and accept the prompt.
Select Permissions Then Save Changes
Make sure both Private and Public are ticked next to Discord on the list, save the changes and exit Discord.
Add Exclusion For Your Third-party Antivirus / Windows Defender
Besides your firewall, antivirus software can also conflict with Discord overlay. The below steps will show you how to add an exclusion for Windows Defender. If you are using a third party antivirus (e.g. AVG, Norton, Avast etc.) then the steps will all be slightly different and you will have to look up how to do the specific steps for your program of choice elsewhere.
System Menu
Press Windows + I to open the System menu again.
Open Virus & Threat Protection
Click Update & Security, then Windows Security on the left hand side of the menu, then Virus & Threat Protection.
Manage Settings
Underneath Virus & Threat Protection settings click on Manage settings.
Click Add Or Remove Exclusions
Scroll to the bottom and under Exclusions select Add or remove exclusions.
Add Exclusion For Discord
Click Add an exclusion, select Folder from the drop down list, and then navigate to select the Discord installation folder.
Save Changes And Restart Discord
Save your changes, close the window, then restart Discord and your game to see if the Discord overlay is working.
Use A VPN
There is the possibility that if Discord overlay is somehow conflicting with your Internet Service Provider, that utilizing a VPN may get around this. The only requirement as to which VPN you use is that it must have User Datagram Protocol (UDP) in order to be compatible with Discord.
We would advise first using a free trial of the software in order to ensure that this really is the cause of the problem before you buy anything. Simply switch on your VPN and then load up Discord and your game of choice to see if the Discord Overlay is now working correctly. Read our guide on the Best VPN For Gaming to see which is right for you.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide has been useful for you. If none of the steps above solve your problem then we’d recommend contacting Discord support directly either via the Support Section on their website or by tweeting to them on their Twitter account.
Be sure to check out our How To Use Discord page for a full list of all our Discord guides, organized by topic.