If you keep experiencing severe lag issues within Discord’s text, voice, or video chats or while interacting with the app in general, the following list of troubleshooting tips should help you fix Discord lag.
Check the Discord System Status
Check the Discord System Status
Discord relies on multiple server-side systems to function effectively. So whenever Discord starts to lag, it’s best to head over to DiscordStatus.com and check the system status. If you notice any issues, you must wait it out until each system becomes fully operational again. However, if everything looks okay, move on with the rest of the fixes.
Refresh Discord or Quit & Re-Open
Refresh Discord or Quit & Re-Open
Pressing Control + R refreshes the Discord user interface and helps resolve problems caused by minor bugs and glitches. Give it a go. If that doesn’t help fix the Discord lag, try quitting and relaunching Discord. To do that, right-click the Discord icon within the system tray and select Quit Discord. Then, open Discord via the desktop or Start menu.
Update Discord
Update Discord
Running an outdated version of Discord is another reason for lag issues, so it’s a good idea to apply any pending updates immediately. You can request the app to check for and install the latest updates by right-clicking the Discord icon within the system tray and selecting Check for Updates.
Troubleshoot Your Internet Connection
Troubleshoot Your Internet Connection
Discord also lags when there’s something wrong with your internet connection. If you encounter spotty online connectivity during normal surfing on your web browser as well, try the following fixes:
Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshooters > Additional troubleshooters and run the Internet Connections and the Network Adapters troubleshootersReset your routerRenew your computer’s IP leaseFlush the Domain Name System (DNS) cache
Enable (or Disable) Hardware Acceleration
Enable (or Disable) Hardware Acceleration
By default, Discord relies on hardware acceleration (which utilizes the GPU) to improve performance. However, if you’ve disabled the functionality within the app, that can end up creating severe Discord lag issues. Re-enabling it should help fix that. Conversely, disabling hardware acceleration can resolve lag on PCs with older graphics hardware.
Activate Reduced Motion
Activate Reduced Motion
Toning down the intensity of animations and hover effects, and blocking GIFs and emojis from playing automatically, can help reduce lag in Discord.
Update (or Roll Back) Graphics Card Drivers
Update (or Roll Back) Graphics Card Drivers
Outdated graphics drivers are a common reason behind severe lag issues in Discord. Updating them should not only help sort that out, but newer drivers also boost performance in video games. Head over to your video card manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download the latest version of the graphics drivers. Then, install them and restart your computer. However, if Discord’s lag issues started right after updating your graphics drivers, you should roll them back via the Device Manager.
Reset Discord Voice and Video Settings
Reset Discord Voice and Video Settings
Incorrectly configured (or conflicting) voice and video settings in Discord can cause the app to lag. Try resetting them to their defaults.
Clear Discord Cache
Clear Discord Cache
Clearing Discord’s cache helps flush redundant data and usually fixes most issues with the app. But to do that, you must manually locate the folder that holds the cached files using File Explorer.
Reinstall Discord
Reinstall Discord
Removing and reinstalling the Discord app can fix lag issues caused by a corrupt or broken installation. This procedure is very straightforward, and you should be done within a few minutes.
Discord Lag Issues Fixed
Discord Lag Issues Fixed
Refreshing Discord, quitting and relaunching the app, and toggling hardware acceleration on and off alone can deal with most lag issues in Discord. If not, the other solutions described above should help get Discord up and running normally again.
