Discord is one of the most popular VoIP programs on the planet right now, with features like video calling, screen sharing and the ability to have your own servers. The app was originally meant for gamers but has expanded to serve just about all kinds of audiences. 

However, Discord’s gamer features haven’t died out. Discord will cast an overlay on it to help give you an overview of who’s talking on the server when playing a game. In this article, we’re going to look at what you can do if Discord overlay isn’t working on your PC. 

Also read: What does Idle mean in Discord?

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Make sure the overlay is enabled

The first and the most obvious thing to do here is first to check the Discord settings and see if the overlay is enabled or not. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click the settings icon next to your name at the bottom. 

Step 2: On the left panel, head over to Overlay under Gaming Settings. Make sure that the Enable In-game Overlay setting is enabled. 

Now try restarting Discord and running your game again. You should be able to see the overlay.

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Run Discord as Administrator

Try running Discord with administrator privileges to check if that resolves your issue. Right-click on the Discord icon either on the desktop or on the start menu and chose the Run as Administrator option. 

Also read: How to screen share on Discord mobile app?

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Disable your antivirus

Third-party antiviruses at times can cause conflicts with apps that cast overlays over other programs. If you’re running a third-party antivirus on your machine, try disabling it, restart discord and see if that resolves your issue. 

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Disable hardware acceleration 

Discord’s in-built hardware acceleration can at times restrict the program from certain actions. Try disabling it to see if that gets the overlay working. 

Step 1: Click the settings icon next to your name at the bottom. 

Step 2: Head over to Advanced under App Settings and disable the Hardware Acceleration setting. 

Restart Discord and try again; the Discord overlay not working should be fixed.

Also read: Why is my Discord mic not working? 12 fixes

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Add your game to Discord

While Discord will almost always automatically detect your game, you might have to add it manually yourself at times. Here’s how. 

Step 1: Click the settings icon next to your name at the bottom. 

Step 2: Head over to Game Activity under Gaming Settings. You’ll be able to see your recently played games here, alongwith an indicator telling you whether or not the overlay was active in the game. If you don’t see your game here, you can add it using the link above. 

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Reinstall Discord

If all else fails, your best bet is to reinstall Discord from scratch.

Step 1: Press Windows key + X to open the Quick Access menu and click on Apps & Features. 

Step 2: Find Discord in this list and click on Uninstall. 

Once the program has been removed, restart your PC, reinstall Discord and try enabling the overlay now. The Discord overlay not working error should be fixed.

Also read: How to Strikethrough text in Discord? Other Markdowns explained