How to Fix Discord Overlay Not Working

The overlay is a valuable Discord feature that allows you to continue using Discord to play games on full screen. For gamers and even non-gamers, Discord has become one of the best ways to communicate with peers, friends, and fellow gamers, while gaming or doing other activities on their device. Bot support has been a fantastic addition to Discord because it allows users to improve the experience and functionality of Discord calls and interactions.

There are times when the overlay feature has issues and stops working, making Discord inaccessible while gaming. There have been multiple reports of the Discord Overlay not working problem, and it seems that it is a common error with an easy fix. Almost everyone was able to resolve the situation by tweaking the overlay setting or reconfiguring system settings.

If you are facing difficulties with the Discord Overlay, this article will help you fix the issue, so continue reading.

Discord Overlay Explained! Why Does The Overlay Feature Issue Occur?

The in-game overlay in Discord feature allows users to continue voice chatting and messaging while playing the game. The overlay option can be closed at any point, even when you are in the middle of playing a game, which makes it very simple to use.

This feature was specially created for gamers who play with others for easy coordination and messaging. It’s also widely used by streamers because it is easy to manage and customizable. You can choose the games in which you want Discord overlay to work or select it to be invisible unless you open it.

Despite the ease of use, sometimes users run into issues with the Discord in-game overlay when it fails to work. The semi-opaque overlay window does not appear as you play the game. Thankfully there are ways to fix the overlay problem; let’s look at the solutions:

Ways to Fix Discord Overlay Not Working Issue

Following are the multiple ways the Discord overlay not showing problem can be fixed:

Run Discord With Admin Privilege

A simple fix for Windows users facing the overlay issue is to run the Discord app as administrator, permitting it to run over other apps. With admin privileges, the issue can resolve itself. Here’s how you can run Discord as admin:

The process is really simple, just right-click on the shortcut to Discord and choose ‘Run as administrator from the menu.

Another method is to set Discord to run as administrator as default. Here is how to do it:

Step 1: Right-click on the shortcut to Discord and select Properties from the menu
Step 2: In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab
Step 3: Find the ‘Run this program as an administrator ‘option under the setting and select it. Click Apply and then OK.
Step 4: Run Discord as administrator, check to see if the problem has been resolved.

Ensure That The Overlay Feature Is Enabled Is Discord

If the in-game overlay feature is not working for you, you must ensure that you have enabled it. This method is another easy option to resolve the problem quickly.

Here is how to enable overlay in Discord:

Step 1: Open the app Discord and go to Settings
Step 2: Click Overlay located on the left panel. Ensure that the toggle is switched on to enable overlay in games.
Step 3: To check if the game you are playing is added to the list of overlay enabled games go to Games located in the left panel. Then in GAME ACTIVITY, turn on the overlay feature.

Tip: Clicking the monitor button beside your games will turn the overlay for games that you can specify. If the game you are playing isn’t on the list, you can add it in the Game Activity section.

Open the game to check if the Discord overlay not working issue is fixed. If not, proceed to the following method.

Turn off Hardware Acceleration

Another useful feature in Discord is Hardware Acceleration that improves performance by using GPU. Although it is a useful function, it can prevent the in-game overlay from working properly. To fix this issue, you will have to disable Hardware Acceleration; here is how to do it:

Step 1: Run Discord, open the app and then go to the Settings by clicking on the cog icon that is located at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2: Then click on Appearance located in the left panel, scroll down, find the Advanced Settings option, and select it. From there, turn off the Hardware Acceleration and save settings to confirm changes.

Finally, close the Discord app. Reopen, Discord and the game you want to play with an overlay feature. Check to see if the issue is fixed. Many Discord users have reported that disabling hardware acceleration has resolved the Discord game overlay not working problem.

Restart Discord to Stop the Overlay Issue

In some cases, Discord doesn’t start properly on your computer that triggers the Discord Overlay issue. To fix this issue, you would first have to disable Discord on your computer, then restart it, and then check if the problem has been resolved or not. Follow the steps below to restart Discord and fix the Discord Overlay issue:

Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to launch the Run prompt.
Step 2: In the dialogue box, type “taskmgr” and hit the ENTER key to launch the Task Manager.
Step 3: Find the Processes tab in the Task Manager and click it to open the list of active processes.
Step 4: Find Discord in the list and click on it. Next, select the End Task option on the Task Manager.
Step 5: Ensure that you scan the list and disable all the instances of the Discord app.
Step 6: After disabling Discord properly, restart Discord to check whether or not the issue is fixed.

Disable Third-party Antivirus

Your device’s third-party antivirus software at times triggers the Discord Overlay issue. Antivirus software often block and restrict Discord that affects certain features of Discord. If that’s the case, then a solution as simple as whitelisting or removing the restriction from the firewall or antivirus will solve the issue.

You can easily resolve the overlay issue by opening your antivirus app and add an exception for Discord. Every antivirus software may have a different method of adding an exception for Discord. Therefore, we recommend you check your third-party antivirus software’s website to learn the correct way of adding an exception for Discord in your firewall or antivirus app.

Disable other Versions

Discord Overlay issue is often triggered by attempting to run the standard and PTB versions of Discord simultaneously. Ensure that you are not running both versions at a time by double-checking your settings.

If both versions are running at a time, then edit the settings to run one version only at a time. Restart the Discord to check if the overlay issue persists.

Update Discord

Believe it or not, updating Discord to its latest version can help you fix the overlay and several other issues. Some features might stop working after an update; therefore, we highly advise you to download and install Discord’s latest version for your computer.

Visit the download page of the Discord website to learn about the newer versions of Discord.

Reinstall Discord

If none of our other solutions help you solve the Discord overlay issue, then try reinstalling Discord. Follow the steps below to install Discord on your computer:

Step 1: Press Win + R keys simultaneously to open the RUN window. Type control in RUN’s dialogue box and press OK to launch the Control Panel.
Step 2: Select “View by Category,” find “Uninstall a Program,” and open it.
Step 3: Once the pop-up window opens, right-click on the Discord icon and select Uninstall.
Step 4: After completing the uninstallation process, restart your PC, download Discord from its official website, and reinstall it.
Step 5: Now, open Discord and run your game on it. Next, add the game to Discord.
Step 6: Enable the in-game overlay feature and check if the issue persists.

Hopefully, this solution will help solve the Discord game detection not working issue.

Contact Discord Support

If you have tried all of the solutions mentioned above to fix the Discord overlay not working issue, then contacting the Discord customer support service is the last option left. You can visit the Discord website, scroll down to find the Support Section to learn about the whole process.

You will find tons of guides and professional information to help you fix several Discord issues and bugs. You can also type your Discord issue in the search bar to quickly and efficiently find the solution. The solutions available on the Discord app are jam-packed with valuable information and solutions that will help you resolve almost any common issue and bug related to Discord.

You can also contact the Discord team via Twitter. You can Tweet your Discord issue and obtain a quick solution from the Discord team.

Final Notes

We hope that you would be able to fix the Discord overlay not working or Discord stuck in fullscreen issue and enjoyed an interruption-free gaming experience with our fixes.

We are confident that one of our solutions will help you fix the problem and make Discord overlay work flawlessly on Windows 10.

If you find any of our solutions helpful, please share them with us in the comments. Also, share your Discord queries and other solutions that worked for you. Find other Discord guides here.

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