How to fix Discord in-game overlay not working?

Most of you guys by the time might know about Discord. It is an American application which helps you while gaming. The app is packed with a ton of features which are extremely helpful while gaming. One of them is the in-game overlay function which will help you reach out to other users while playing a full-screen game. From here, you can chat with others and send media if you wish. But several users have reported that they are facing errors like overlay doesn’t show while gaming. There will be a lot of reasons for the same. Most primarily, some may forget to enable the feature in the Discord app. There are also some more reasons, and we are here with the solutions for you guys to fix the issue.

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Solution 1: Make sure that you have enabled Game In-Game Overlay mode in Discord

If you face Discord Overlay not working, you should first check if you have enabled the in-game overlay mode in DiscordDiscord. It is a feature which helps Discord to be a power-packed communication system while gaming. In simple words, it transforms DiscordDiscord from being just a VoIP communication client to a vital system while gaming. But the thing is. Discord doesn’t enable this critical feature by default. So, the Overlay of DiscordDiscord will not appear when you launch any game on your computer. Also, it is essential to check if your game supports overlay or not. Mostly older games and games which use Vulkan doesn’t support the feature overlay. Popular games like Fortnite, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Minecraft, Dota 2, CS:GO will support the overlay feature of DiscordDiscord. If you don’t know how to enable the same, you can follow the below-mentioned steps.

• For this, first, open the Discord app on your computer.
• Once it opens, now press the gear icon which you can see on the menu. Then, navigate to the User Settings.
• You can find a menu to the left side, and from here, click on the Overlay tab which you can see on your screen.
• Now, turn the toggle switch on which you can see next to the Enable in-game overlay.  
• There you go, the in-game overlay will be enabled now. Now you guys will be able to play games along with the overlay feature of the Discord app.
• Also, now click on the Games tab which you can see on the left tab.
• From here, make sure that you have enabled overlay function for the game which you are playing.
• If it isn’t enabled, click the monitor button next to the game name for allowing the overlay feature.

Solution 2: Always Run Discord as Administrator.

We hope that most of you guys know the difference between running a program in normal mode and running it as Administrator. Discord needs some access to internal files, but the mere opening will not give them access to those things. If you guys need the in-game overlay to be worked without any issues, run the Program as Administrator. For this, follow the below-mentioned steps to run it as Administrator in a permanent manner.

• First, open the Start menu and search for Discord. Or you can open it from the Desktop icon.
• Once you see the icon, right-click on that and select the Properties option.
• From the Properties window, choose the Compatibility tab.
• Then, tick the checkbox which you can find near Run this Program as an administrator option.
• Finally, click on Apply” and tap on the OK button. Now open Discord and open any game to check if the in-game overlay in functioning or not.

Solution 3: Uninstall your third party Antivirus software if installed. Or exclude Discord from Antivirus scanning

Antivirus software could be an issue for the overlay error, which happens while playing DiscordDiscord. Most of the third-party antivirus software blocks Discord from running in the background. You can follow the below-mentioned steps for uninstalling your third-party antivirus software.

• First, open Control Panel from the icon on the Desktop or the Start menu. 
• Now change the view type to View by category and then click on the Program’sProgram’s section.
• After this, choose the option Uninstall a Program.
• Select the Antivirus software which you have installed from the list.
• Then, use the right button of your mouse and choose the Uninstall option.
• Now, follow the prompts on the screen to Uninstall the software entirely.
• Once the process is completed, restart your computer to check if the issue still exists or not. Follow the steps below to exclude Discord in Windows Defender.

1. Open the Settings from the Start menu or by holding the Windows + I to open the same.
2. Now click on the Update and Security option which you can see to the bottom.
3. From the menu to the left, select the Windows Security option. And now click on the Virus and Threat Protection menu which you can see on your screen.
4. Now choose the Manage Settings button, which you can find under the Virus and Threat Protection Settings.
5. From here, scroll down and then select the Add or Remove Exclusions button in the next window.
6. Now, click on the Add an Exclusion option and then choose Folder as the File type.
7. From here, choose the Discord installation folder to exclude Discord from scanning. 
8. Once you are done, save and exit from this window.
9. Check if the in-game Discord Overlay is working or not.

Solution 4: Turn off the feature Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration helps in certain situations to increase performance. But sometimes, it will be the reason for errors to occur like the overlay error. The thing is that sometimes the feature will increase the temperature of hardware, and then it will run into errors. So try disabling Hardware Acceleration with the help of the steps mentioned below.

• Open Discord on your computer and find the gear icon, which you can see under the App Settings section.
• Now go to the Appearance tab, and scroll down and turn off the Hardware Acceleration feature.
• Finally, click on OK to confirm this change.
• Close Discord and check if the issue is fixed or not.  

Solution 5: Try enabling the Overlay Hotkey

Sometimes, users forget to enable the hotkey for the in-game overlay. There are also chances for the hotkey to mix with the other functions of Discord. It means that you may assign the hotkey of the overlay to some other parts unknowingly. Follow the steps below to activate hotkey.

• Open Discord from the icon on the Desktop. Or you can search for the same in the Start menu.
• Now, click on the gear icon which you can see to the right side of your username. From here open the User Settings.
• You can see the overlay option from the menu which you can see to the left side.
• From here, you will find the current hotkey near to the Enable in-game overlay option.
• Now assign a new hotkey, and then you can use the same key to activate the Discord overlay while gaming.

Solution 6: Try adjusting your Display Scale

Another issue for the overlay error may be the display scale of your system. The error will occur if the display scale of your desktop or laptop is above 100%. Then you will not be able to locate the overlay during gaming. In situations like these, you can reduce the same to fix the issue. For this, follow the steps below.

• Open the Settings from the Start menu or by holding the Windows + I to open the same.
• Now, click on System from the Settings window.
• From here, choose the Display option.
• Now click on the Window’s right side and then expand the drop-down which you can see under the Scale and Layout category.
• From here, select the option 100% (Recommended).
• Close that and open any game to check if it is working or not.

These are the different solutions which we could provide to you guys. Do share the article with your friends and family for better coverage. In case if any solution doesn’t work try reinstalling Discord or contact the customer support for more assistance.

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