Discord picking up Game Audio on PC [Fix]

In this guide, we are going to discuss methods to resolve the issue where Discord is picking up the game audio when it should not. Discord is a popular free VoIP application and digital distribution platform specially designed for video gaming groups. It works well for gamers most of the time; however, you may run into some errors and issues at times. One such issue is that Discord sends the game audio along with your voice. And, this is not what you want. It can be not very pleasant if this happens continuously. If you’re facing the same issue, we’ll show you how to resolve it. But before that, we are going to try to understand what can cause this issue on Discord. Let us check out.

What is the reason behind Discord picking up the Game Audio?

Here are some of the possible reasons that may cause Discord to pick up the game audio along with your voice:

Your sound settings are most likely the ones behind the issue. Enabling stereo mix causes the sounds from your speakers and microphone to mix. If the scenario applies to you, try disabling the stereo mix.
The main cause of any audio-related problems is linked to your audio drivers. If your system has faulty, incorrect, or corrupted audio drivers, you may encounter this issue.
Another reason for this issue can be the wrong plug-in, such as plugging your mic into an audio jack fitted into your keyboard.

Now that you know the scenarios that may trigger this issue on Discord, you can try using an appropriate method to resolve the issue accordingly. Let us check out the fixes now.

Why can my friends hear my game audio through my headset?

Your friends can hear your game audio through your headset because Discord is picking up both the game audio and your voice. As discussed above, this issue can be a result of incorrect audio settings, faulty audio drivers, a wrong plug-in, or wrong microphone settings. In any case, you can resolve the issue by trying the fixes mentioned below.

Discord picking up Game Audio on PC

Here are the methods to fix the problem of Discord picking up the game audio on Windows 11/10 PC:

Disabling Stereo Mix Setting.
Disable Audio Drivers.
Uninstall, then reinstall audio drivers.
Modify Microphone Settings.
Plug into Different Audio Jack.
Reinstall Discord.

1] Disabling Stereo Mix Setting

Some users are experiencing this problem because of incorrect sound settings. You can try disabling stereo mix settings as the issue may arise if the Stereo Mix is set to the default device instead of your headset microphone. After doing that, you should also make sure that the correct input and output audio devices are chosen in Discord. Let us discuss the step-by-step procedure to disable the Stereo Mix setting in Windows 11 PC:

Firstly, right-click on the volume icon from the taskbar, and from the appeared options, select the Sound settings option.
Now, scroll down on the Sound settings page and locate the More sound settings option; simply click on this option.
Next, go to the Recording tab in the opened Sound window.
After that, right-click on the Stereo Mix option and choose the Disable option.
Additionally, make sure that you have chosen your headphone as the default device.
Now, launch the Discord app and go to the User Settings button.
Next, navigate to Voice & Video > Voice Settings and then make sure you have selected the correct Input Device and Output Device.

Check if the issue with Discord picking up the game audio is resolved now.

Read: Fix Discord Connection issues on PC.

2] Modify Microphone Settings

If you have customized some microphone settings recently, you might need to change your microphone settings in case it is causing the input audio to be mixed with the output. Here are the steps that you can follow to do so:

Firstly, select the audio icon on the taskbar and right-click on it.
Now, select the Sound settings option and then click on the More sound settings option.
Next, go to the “Recording” tab and select and right-click on your microphone.
After that, click on the Properties option from the appeared options.
Then, navigate to the “Listen” tab and ensure that the “Listen to this Device” checkbox is unchecked.
Next, go to the Advanced tab and make sure the options under the Exclusive Mode section are checked/enabled.
Finally, click on the Apply > OK button to apply changes.

Check if the “Discord picking up game audio” issue is now resolved or not.

See: Discord update failed; Stuck in Retrying loop.

3] Disable Audio Drivers

Most of the time, audio problems are related to the audio drivers. If your sound drivers are corrupted or not correctly installed, you may encounter this error. Try disabling your audio drivers, except for “Windows Default Driver,” to see if the issue resolves.

Here are the main steps to disable audio drivers in Windows 11/10:

Firstly, right-click on the audio icon from the taskbar and then press the Sound settings option.
Now, on the Sound settings page, scroll down and click on the More sound settings button.
Next, in the Sound window, make sure you are on the Playback tab and locate and select the Realtek and Nvidia High Definition drivers.
Next, right-click on the selected audio drivers and select the Disable option.
Finally, press the OK button, restart your PC, and then check if the problem is resolved.

Read: Fix Discord Installation has failed error on Windows PC.

4] Uninstall, then reinstall audio drivers

If corrupted audio drivers are indeed the ones that are causing this problem, you can try uninstalling and then reinstalling audio drivers to start afresh. Before that, you can also try updating audio drivers at first and see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn’t fix the issue for you, you will first need to uninstall your audio drivers completely and then reinstall them.

To uninstall your audio driver, open the Windows Settings app and then go to the Apps section. Here, click on the Apps & features option and then scroll down to your audio driver under the App list section. Then, tap on the three-dot button and select the Uninstall button. After that, follow the onscreen instructions to complete the uninstallation of your audio driver.

Next, reboot your computer and Windows will automatically reinstall the missing audio device driver on your system. You can also visit the official website of your device’s manufacturer and download the latest audio drivers from the website. After that, run the installer and follow the prompted instructions to complete the audio driver installation.

5] Plug into Different Audio Jack

This issue can be a result of a wrong plug-in. For example, in case you’re using a USB plugin or Audio Jack on your keyboard, it might cause the problem of Discord picking up the game audio. In this scenario applies to you, you can try unplugging the microphone and headphone from the keyboard and plugging it into a different audio jack or port. Hopefully, this will resolve the issue for you.

6] Reinstall Discord

If none of the above solutions work for you, you should consider reinstalling the Discord app. If the incorrect installation of the app is causing this problem, you should be able to fix the issue for yourself. First, uninstall Discord, then reinstall the app to see if the issue is resolved.

You can manually uninstall Discord from the Settings app. However, we recommend you completely uninstall the Discord app with its leftover and residue files. After you complete the uninstallation of Discord, restart your PC. Then, go to Discord’s official website and download the latest installer. Finally, run the installer and follow the prompted guide to complete installation for Discord. This must fix the issue for you if none of the above fixes resolved the issue.

Read: Fix Discord RTC Connecting No Route error on Windows 11

Why does Discord mess up my game audio?

The main reason why Discord messes up the game audio is that you have set incorrect settings. Apart from that, if you have a corrupt audio driver, you can find the same issue on your PC. Using the audio device with an incorrect audio port can also lead to this problem.

Now read: Fix You are being rate-limited Discord error on Windows PC.