Discord is a messaging programme that provides amazing communication services and features. One of these features is the overlay, which allows players to communicate with their Discord buddies while playing a full-screen game.
However, several players reported that their overlay was not visible when playing the game. For some of these people, this problem occurs only in certain games, while for others, it occurs in every game they play.
This is a really aggravating issue since it causes a lot of problems for users because it prohibits them from communicating with other players while playing online games.
What Causes The Discord Overlay Not Working?
If we start listing all of the reasons for this difficulty, the list will get pretty long. As a result, the list below includes all of the most prevalent causes. Let’s have a look at it.
1. Game Overlay
The Game Overlay Option is one of the most prevalent and significant sources of this problem. The majority of users are unfamiliar with the game’s settings, which are frequently the source of later problems for gamers.
To fix this, users must enable the overlay option for specific games and add that game to their Discord game list. Many users are unaware that they must switch on their overlay manually in order for their game to be added to their Discord game list.
2. Antivirus Software
Antivirus software is also one of the most prevalent causes of problems with the Discord overlay. Discord is sometimes flagged as suspicious by these apps, and they are therefore blocked.
3. The Display Is Scaled
If your system has a scaled Windows display, it’s possible that it’s also obscuring your Discord overlay.
4. Overlay Placement
Because Discord overlay may be dragged about the screen, many users mistakenly move it off their computer screen. This problem occurs when the user’s display is also scaled.
For example, if the user placed the overlay towards the edge of their screen and then scaled the display, they will be unable to locate the overlay, despite the fact that it is functional.
5. Hardware Acceleration
Hardware acceleration refers to the use of your computer hardware to perform certain activities more quickly than running software on a CPU that is designed for a more broad purpose. When this property is enabled, it may cause problems with your discord overlay function.
Discord Overlay Not Working
Remember to restart your computer and the Discord software before using the following techniques. This can sometimes help you solve the problem. As a result, restart your Discord programme to see whether the problem has gone away. If it still hasn’t worked, restart your computer and see if the problem has gone away.
Method 1: Enable the Game Overlay
First and foremost, you must enable the overlay option in your game. You should make sure that the option is turned on because there are a lot of things you need to be sure of in the overlay of your game’s settings. If you want to make sure your setup is correct, follow the instructions below to avoid any problems.
Step 1 – Launch the Discord app.
Step 2 – Now, to the right of the avatar, click on the gear icon, which is labelled “user settings.” Then, in the left pane, choose Overlay.
Step 3 – Finally, enable the in-game overlay option. It’s at the top right corner of the right pane.
Step 4 – Select game activity from the left pane. If you want to play a certain game, make sure the overlay option is set on.
Step 5 – If the overlay option is enabled, the danger game must appear in a green box in the right pane. When playing a game, the state “Overlay:On” must be visible. If the overlay option for your game is turned off, click the monitor button in front of the game to enable it.
Step 6 – If the games you want aren’t in the options, you can add them yourself. In the right pane, click the Add It button. Select your preferred game from the drop-down menu.
Step 7 – Select Add Game from the drop-down menu. You can now repeat steps 6 and 7 to turn on the overlay for your game.
2. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration
Hardware acceleration is the main cause of all of these problems, thus it’s better to turn it off. To disable hardware acceleration, perform the following steps:
Step 1 – Log in to Discord. Then, to the right of the avatar, click on the gear symbol, which is user settings.
Step 2 – In the left pane, select Appearance. Then scroll down to the Hardware Acceleration option in the right pane. Check the Advanced section if you can’t find it.
Step 3 – Once you’ve found it, disable Hardware Acceleration with the toggle. A confirmation box will most likely appear when you do so. Click the Okay button. The Discord app will now restart.
That’s all there is to it. After the Discord app reboots, this issue should be resolved.
3. Resize The Display
Some customers discovered that their PC’s display had been scaled up to 105 percent or more, and all they had to do to fix the problem was restore it to 100 percent.
Make sure this isn’t the case for you, as it could be the only reason you can’t see your overlay. All you have to do is restore your display to its original size, which is 100 percent, and the problem will go away.
Step 1 – To begin, press the Windows + I key combination on your keyboard. Then select System.
Step 2 – Next, in the Scale and Layout area, select the 100 percent (Recommend) option from the drop-down box.
After the process is complete, restart your game, and your overlay should now appear.
4. Reposition The Overlay
The position of your overlay may be the cause of this problem in some circumstances. Because the overlay can be moved about, it’s possible that you accidentally moved it off your screen.
If none of the preceding techniques worked for you, it implies that all of your settings are correct, but you can’t see the overlay because of its placement. In this instance, the best option is to reposition the overlay following the techniques described below:
Step 1 – Shut down your game and open Discord. Once you’re in the Discord app, enter the key combination ctrl + shift + I. This will start a javascript.
Step 2 – Now, in the top right corner of your javascript console, click the >> icon.
Step 3 – From the drop-down menu, select Application. Then, on Local Storage, click twice. Alternatively, you may simply click on the arrow next to Local Storage.
Step 4 – Below the Local Storage, you should now see a newly created entry. It’s named https:discordapp.com, as you can see. Now, go ahead and click on this entry.
Step 5 – Next, right-click OverlayStoreV2 or OverlayStore and select Properties. It’ll be between the Keys column and the bottom of the page.
Step 6 – Finally, select Delete. Finally, the Discord app should be relaunched.
It’s an open game. Your overlay should be at its default position, but you are free to move it about.
5. Keep Discord
Your Discord software is likely to be updated on a regular basis, therefore it’s possible that this is the cause of your problem. Consider whether or not the problem began after the most recent upgrade.
If the options given above haven’t worked for you, there isn’t much you can do in this situation. You can, however, manually update Discord again.
6. Run The Programme
In some circumstances, your Discord software can be missing system permissions that allow it to read and write to your system’s root directory.
This can hinder discord overlay from operating properly, thus in this way, we’ll provide this permission to the Discord app to confirm that it’s not the source of the problem. As a result of this,
Step 1 – To begin, right-click on the Discord executable, which can be found in the Discord installation folder on your desktop. Then select Properties.
Step 2 – Select the Compatibility tab from the Discord Properties menu. Then select “Run this Program as an Administrator” from the drop-down menu.
Step 3 – Next, click Apply to save the changes you’ve made, and then OK to dismiss the window.
Step 4 – Relaunch Discord to see if the error reappears.
7. Getting Past Antiviruses
If you’re using some third-party security software with certain stringent settings. You can get this error even if you utilise the basic Windows Firewall or Defender.
This occurs because these apps prevent Discord from running in the background or utilising system resources. As a result, in this method, we’ll try to add a Discord app exception to Windows Firewall and Windows Defender. Steps:
Step 1 – To open the Run prompt, first hit the Windows + R key combination.
Step 2 – After that, type Control Panel and press Enter to bring up the classic control panel interface. After that, select Large Icons from the View by drop-down menu.
Step 3 – Select Windows Defender from the drop-down menu. Then, on the left pane, select Allow an app or feature through the Firewall.
Step 4 – After that, select Change Settings and accept the prompt.
Step 5 – Double-check that your Discord app and linked drivers/applications have both Private and Public settings ticked. Now save the changes you’ve made and close the window.
Step 6 – Next, hit the Windows + I key combination to enter the settings menu, and then select Update and Security.
Step 7 – Next, select Virus and Threat Protection from the Windows Settings menu. Then, under the heading Virus and Threat Protection, select Manage Settings.
Step 8 – Scroll down the screen and select Add or Remove Exclusions from the dialogue. After that, select Folder from the Add an Exclusion menu.
Step 9 – Double-check that the Discord installation folder was specified, and then close this window once the modifications have been saved. Check to see whether the problem has been resolved.
Note: Check your third-party antivirus software to see if the Discord app is on their block list. It’s worth noting that certain programmes can sometimes flag Discord, preventing it from functioning properly.
8. Reinstall Discord
Because to storage issues, installing programmes can be problematic at times. This can seriously jeopardise Discord’s settings. We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen with this way. After deleting Discord from your PC, we’ll reinstall it. As a result of this,
Step 1 – Open the Run command window by pressing the Windows + R key combination.
Step 2 – To open the Control Panel tab, type Control and press Enter. Then, scroll down to View by > Category and select Uninstall an application from the drop-down menu.
Step 3 – A pop-up window will appear with a list of programmes. Discord may be accessed by right-clicking it. Select Uninstall.
Step 4 – Follow the on-screen directions to completely delete the Discord programme from your PC. After you’ve uninstalled the Discord programme, restart your computer.
Step 5 – Go to Discord’s official website and download the most recent version of the programme. After downloading, double-click the executable file to run it, and then follow the on-screen directions to install it on your computer.
Check to see whether the error still appears. Most likely, a reinstallation would have resolved the issue.
9. Disable Background Applications
Some background software can interfere with the actions of your Discord client, preventing the overlay from appearing. We’ll disable such background programmes in method 9 and see if that solves the problem. The following are the steps to take:
Step 1 – To open the Run prompt, hit the Windows + R key combination. Then, in the bar, type MSConfig.
Step 2 – To execute the command, press the Enter key. The MSConfig window will appear.
Step 3 – Go to the Startup page and check all of the apps that have been set up. Then, for all of them, click Disable.
Step 4 – Next, go to the Services tab and uncheck the option labelled Hide all Microsoft services. To stop all programmes and services from operating, simply select Disable All.
Step 5 – Select OK and restart your computer. Check if the error persists after the reboot. If the error has cleared, enable apps one by one and see which one causes it to reappear.
Step 6 – Once you’ve determined which app is causing you problems, you can permanently disable it to prevent future errors.
10. VPN
You might try configuring your VPN connection to resolve this issue, as the majority of voice connection issues can be resolved by simply using VPN. It’s worth noting that Discord only works with VPNs that use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).
For situations like this, we recommend Nord VPN. Nord encrypts your internet traffic and conceals your identity. It also allows users to connect to six different devices at the same time. The following are some instructions for setting up a VPN connection on your computer:
Step 1 – Go to the Nord VPN official website first. To create a Nord VPN account, follow the step-by-step instructions on their website. You must now select a specific plan for yourself.
Step 2 – Now browse to your system’s download location and click Install.
Step 3 – Your machine will now be configured with Nord VPN. Sign in with your email address and password.
Step 4 – Finally, select Quick Connect and voila! You’ll be connected to a recommended server right away.
Note: If you want to pick a specific server for yourself, you can do so easily. Go to the left panel of the Nord VPN window to do so. By clicking on the country pin on the map, you can select a specific server.
Check to verify if Discord Overlay is visible after configuring the VPN.
11. Overlay Hotkey
In most cases, a hotkey is not set to enable overlay upon startup. If that’s the case, make sure this hotkey doesn’t conflict with any other hotkeys you’ve set up in Discord. If this is the case, try using a different Hotkey. This may assist you in resolving your problem. The following are the steps to take:
Step 1 – First, open the Discord app and go to User Settings.
Step 2 – In the left pane, beneath App settings, look for the Overlay symbol and click it. Near the Enable-in-game-overlay option, you’ll notice an option for the current Hotkey.
Step 3 – You can easily configure the new Hotkey here and use it to invoke Discord Overlay the next time you run your game.
Step 4 – Check to see if this solution has solved the problem.
12. Completely Restart Discord
It’s possible that the Discord programme didn’t launch properly on your computer, resulting in the Discord Overlay issue. So, in this method, we’ll try to completely disable this on your PC, then reboot to see if the error has gone away. Steps:
Step 1 – To open the Run prompt, first hit the Windows + R key combination. After that, type taskmgr and press Enter to open Task Manager.
Step 2 – Select the Processes tab in the Task Manager, and a list of active processes will appear.
Step 3 – From this list, choose Discord process. After that, select the option to End Task.
Step 4 – Double-check that you’ve examined the list properly and disabled all Discord app instances found there. Finally, check to see if the problem has been resolved.
13. Disable Additional Versions
If you try to use the PTB and regular versions of your Discord app at the same time, you’ll frequently see this problem. Make sure both of these versions aren’t running at the same time in your settings. You can change your settings to just run one version of your Discord app and then check if the error has gone away.
14. Discord’s Customer Service
If none of the following solutions were successful in resolving the error, the best course of action is to contact Discord’s support team. You may learn more about the process by visiting their website and scrolling down to the Support Section.
You’ll find complete contact information here. You can type your specific issue in their search box to get a rapid response to your problem, and their team will contact you as soon as possible. You can also contact them via their Twitter account for a quick response.
Conclusion
So that was the end of our investigation into this problem. We hope that at least one of the approaches listed above helped you solve your problem. Although it is not a major issue, we understand how aggravating it can be. In our opinion, contacting the support team is the best option if nothing else works. Thank you for taking the time to read this!
