As one of over 150 million regular Discord users, I often hear from friends about issues that pop up while using the popular chat app. Glitches happen to all of us! The good news is that a quick restart of the Discord application typically fixes minor software hiccups and gets Discord working properly again.
In this beginner-friendly guide, we‘ll walk through the straightfoward steps to restart Discord on any device. I‘ll draw from my own experience as an admin handling tech issues for a large Discord community to explain these common troubleshooting techniques.
Why Issues Arise That Require Restarting Discord
Before jumping into the step-by-step instructions, it helps to understand why restarting Discord usually resolves problems.
Issues that members of my server frequently face include:
- Chat randomly freezing/not showing new messages
- "Electron" app window not responding, even on good computers
- Friends locked out from servers due to odd glitches
These frustrating problems happen because Discord runs on a framework called Electron that sometimes has hiccups. Restarting the app essentially forces a clean re-load of Discord and all of its components. This flush and refresh clears out any temporarily corrupted files or data.
Think of it as hitting Ctrl + Alt + Delete on a computer that‘s frozen. Just a quick reboot!
Now let‘s go through how to actually restart Discord properly on each device…
Restarting Discord on Mac
My friend Cameron always messages me from his MacBook whenever his Discord audio cuts out during our calls.
To restart Discord and resolve transient electron issues, here are the steps for Mac:
Step 1: Fully Quit Discord
From your dock, right click the Discord icon and select Quit to fully close the app.
The keyboard shortcut Cmd + Q performs the same Quit function if needed.
Step 2: Force Quit Discord (If Not Responding)
When Cameron‘s Discord literally freezes, he can‘t Quit properly. No worries! Just use the Cmd + Opt + Esc shortcut to open the Force Quit menu instead.
This menu allows you to forcefully terminate unresponsive apps. Click the Discord entry and then confirm Force Quit.
Step 3: Freshly Launch Discord
Lastly, whether you regular Quit or Force Quit Discord, navigate in Finder to your Mac‘s Applications folder. Locate and double click on the Discord icon to launch a fresh instance. Log in if prompted upon opening.
Cameron confirmed that following these steps cleared up his audio issues and he could rejoin our chat!
Restarting Discord on Windows
My friend Vivian predominantly uses her custom-built Windows PC for gaming. She told me visual glitches sometimes occur in her Discord text channels that make messages unreadable. Restarting Discord cleared this up instantly!
On Windows, the process is similar with a couple small differences:
Step 1: Exit Discord
Click the X in the top-right corner of the Discord window first. Then right click on the Discord icon in your system tray near the clock and select Quit.
This completely exits out of Discord before the next launch.
Step 2: Force Quit Through Task Manager
If Discord refuses to close normally, use Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Click More Details if needed. Go to the Apps or Processes tab, right click the Discord entry, and choose End Task.
This method essentially force quits Discord, similar to the Mac steps.
Step 3: Start Up Discord Again
Finally, whether you regularly exited or had to force quit Discord, navigate in your Start Menu to the Discord listing and launch the app again.
Upon reopening Discord and logging back in, Vivian confirmed the weird visual glitches in her text channels had disappeared!
Restarting Discord on iPhone or Android
My friends know I use Discord on my phone to chat while gaming on my PlayStation. Of course mobile apps can also get tempermental at times! Here is how to properly restart Discord on either iPhone or Android smartphones:
Step 1: Swipe Up to Close App
On iPhone or Android, swipe up from the bottom edge of your screen to reveal open apps. Locate Discord, and swipe up on the preview window to fully close it.
This removes Discord from your recent apps list.
Step 2: Force Stop (Android Only)
On an Android device specifically, head into your main Settings menu then choose Apps.
Tap the Discord entry and select Force Stop to completely force close Discord on an Android, ensuring no processes linger in the background.
Step 3: Relaunch Fresh Discord App
Finally, whether you closed Discord normally or performed a force stop, tap on the Discord mobile icon on your home screen or apps menu to restart it.
Log into your account again if prompted after relaunching. This will load a fresh version of Discord mobile!
Quick Restart Fixes Most Discord Problems
I‘ve used these troubleshooting steps to help many friends refresh buggy Discord app instances. It doesn‘t take long, and a restart resolves most problems caused by temporary glitches.
If issues ever persist after a restart, I recommend contacting Discord‘s customer support who are quite helpful. You can also try reinstalling Discord or rebooting your whole device to perhaps resolve a troublesome underying software or hardware issue.
But 9 times out of 10, a quick restart of the Discord app itself breathes new life into things!
I‘ll be sure to update this guide with any new troubleshooting tips I learn. Let me know which trick worked best for you!
