Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES [Fix]

Is your Discord stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen? Discord is a popular VOIP service used by millions of gaming enthusiasts worldwide. While it has made communication amongst gamers a lot easier, it has its own share of issues and bugs. Many Discord users have reported being stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen whenever they try to update the app. Downloading and installing updates is very important as it improves the performance and stability of the app. So, this issue can be very annoying and frustrating.

Now, if you are one of the affected users facing the same issue, this guide is for you. In this post, we are going to discuss several fixes that will help you get rid of the “Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES” issue. So, without much ado, let us get straight to the solutions now.

Why is Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES?

Before we talk about fixes, let us try and understand the scenarios that might trigger the problem at hand. Here are the potential causes:

• The problem might be caused if the current Discord server status is down. So, make sure there is no service outage or technical issue on Discord’s side before moving on to advanced troubleshooting methods.
• Lack of administrator privileges to run or update Discord can be one of the reasons for the issue at hand. Hence, if applicable, run Discord as an administrator to fix the issue.
• The problem might be caused by a network issue. So, try restarting or performing a power cycle on your router to fix the issue.
• Your overprotective security suite might be interfering with the update process and causing the issue at hand. If applicable, you can try disabling your firewall/antivirus or allowing Discord through your security suite to fix the issue.
• The corrupted Discord cache could also be a reason for the same issue. So, try deleting the Discord cache folder to fix the problem.
• It could also be caused by a corrupted installation of the app. Hence, reinstall the Discord client and see if the problem is fixed.

Based on the above scenarios, you can try the below-listed fix to resolve the “Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES” issue.

Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES

Here are the fixes you can try if Discord is stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen:

1. Check Discord server status.
2. Run Discord with administrator rights.
3. Reboot your PC as well as router.
4. Disable your firewall/ antivirus.
5. Clear the Discord cache folder.
6. Uninstall and reinstall Discord.

1] Check Discord server status

This problem might be caused if the current server status of Discord is down. There might be a service outage issue or a technical issue on Discord’s end. As a result, Discord is forever stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen. Hence, check the server status of Discord and make sure that its services are up and running.

In case you find out that Discord’s servers are down at the moment, there is nothing you can do about it. Just wait for some time and keep retrying. If there is no server issue, you can move ahead and try another solution to fix the issue.

Read: Failed to connect your YouTube account to Discord in Windows.

2] Run Discord with administrator rights

Discord might not be able to download and install updates and be stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen if it lacks administrator rights. In that case, you can try running Discord with administrator privileges to fix the issue.

Just right-click on the Discord.exe file and select the Run as an administrator option from the context menu. If the problem is now resolved, you can try making Discord run with admin rights always using the below steps:

1. Firstly, open File Explorer and navigate go to the location where the Discord.exe file is located.
2. Now, right-click on the Discord.exe file and then choose the Properties option from the appeared context menu.
3. Next, move to the Compatibility tab and enable the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
4. After that, click on the Apply > OK button to apply changes.
5. You can try relaunching the Discord app and see if the problem is resolved or not.

Try the next potential fix to resolve the issue in case this method fails to fix the issue for you.

Read: Can’t install Discord, Installation has failed on Windows PC.

3] Reboot your PC as well as your router

You can try restarting your computer and your networking device, i.e., router, to fix the issue. The problem might be caused due to a temporary system glitch. So, try restarting your PC and see if the issue is fixed.

In addition, the problem might also be triggered due to a network issue caused by a bad router cache. So, you can try restarting your router to fix the issue. If a simple restart doesn’t work, you can try power cycling your router using the below steps:

1. Firstly, press and hold the power button to switch off your router.
2. Now, unplug the device from the main switch and wait for at least 30-45 seconds.
3. Next, plug in the power cord of your router back to the switchboard and turn on the device.
4. After that, connect to the internet and launch Discord to check if the problem is fixed or not.

If this method doesn’t work for you, move on to the next potential fix.

Read: Fix Discord Voice Connection errors on Windows.

4] Disable your firewall/ antivirus

Your firewall or antivirus might be interfering with the update process on Discord, and thus, it is stuck on the CHECKING FOR UPDATES screen forever. In multiple instances, your security suite identifies downloaded update files as a virus due to false positives. If that applies, you should be able to fix the problem by disabling your firewall and antivirus. In case the problem is resolved, you can try whitelisting Discord through your firewall and antivirus.

If the issue still persists, try the next potential fix.

5] Clear the Discord cache folder

In many cases, the problem is caused by a corrupted or bad cache associated with the Discord app. So, if the scenario applies to you, clear the Discord cache folder to fix the issue. Here are the steps to delete the Discord cache folder:

1. Firstly, open Task Manager using Ctrl+Shift+Esc and close all the processes related to Discord.
2. After that, press the Win+R hotkey to open the Run dialog box.
3. Now, enter %appdata% in the Open field and then locate the Discord folder.
4. Next, right-click the Discord folder and click Delete to remove it.
5. Finally, relaunch the Discord app and check if the problem is fixed.

If the issue still persists, you can move on to the next potential fix to resolve it.

See: Discord won’t open or is Stuck on Connecting screen on Windows PC.

6] Uninstall and reinstall Discord

If none of the solutions worked for you, the last resort is to reinstall the Discord application. The update process might be stuck if there are corrupted Discord installation files. So, if this applies, you can try fixing the problem by reinstalling the Discord app.

First, you are required to uninstall Discord from your computer completely. To do that, follow the below steps:

1. Firstly, go to the Settings app using the Win+I hotkey.
2. Now, navigate to the Apps tab and click on the Apps & features option.
3. Next, locate the Discord app and click on the three-dot menu button present next to it.
4. Then, choose the Uninstall option and complete the uninstallation by following the prompted instructions.
5. When the process is finished, make sure to delete Discord’s installation folder from your PC.
6. Finally, restart your system and then download and install the latest version of Discord from its official website.

Hopefully, the “Discord stuck on CHECKING FOR UPDATES” issue will be resolved now.

How do I fix Discord stuck on update failed?

If you keep getting the Update Failed message on Discord, you can try fixing the issue by running the Discord app with administrator rights. Besides that, clear the Discord AppData folder or restart your router and computer to fix the issue.

How do I fix Discord stuck on startup?

If Discord is stuck on the startup screen and is not opening, try running the app with admin rights. Apart from that, you can try disabling ad blockers, trying the web app of Discord, flushing the DNS cache, or running an SFC scan. If that doesn’t help, you can try reinstalling the Discord app to fix the issue.

Why is my Discord GREY?

If Discord is stuck on a grey screen, it might be because of a compatibility issue. Or the problem might be triggered by a corrupted cache or a corrupted app installation.

Now read: Fix Discord Notification Sound not working on Windows PC.