Discord Keeps Crashing — How to Fix It Fast (All Platforms)

Discord keeps crashing or closing itself and reopening when the app encounters a fatal error and automatically restarts to recover. Fix it by clearing the Discord cache folders, disabling hardware acceleration in Settings → Advanced, or doing a clean reinstall. Most cases resolve in under 5 minutes.

Why Does Discord Keep Crashing

Discord crashes when it encounters an error it cannot recover from — forcing it to close and reopen automatically. Unlike freezing which pauses Discord temporarily, crashing closes the app entirely.

Common causes:

• Corrupted Discord cache files
• Hardware acceleration conflicting with GPU drivers
• Antivirus blocking Discord files
• Outdated Discord app or GPU drivers
• Screensharing or streaming triggering a GPU error
• Discord crashing when joining a voice channel
• Insufficient system memory
• Corrupted Discord installation

Fix 1 — Clear Discord Cache

Corrupted cache files are the most common cause of Discord crashing:

Windows:

1. Fully close Discord from the system tray
2. Press Win+R → type %appdata%\Discord → press Enter
3. Delete these folders:
   • Cache
   • Code Cache
   • GPUCache
4. Press Win+R → type %localappdata%\Discord → press Enter
5. Delete the Cache folder here too
6. Restart Discord

Mac:

1. Quit Discord completely
2. Open Finder → press Cmd+Shift+G
3. Type ~/Library/Application Support/discord
4. Delete Cache, Code Cache, and GPUCache folders
5. Restart Discord

Android: Settings → Apps → Discord → Storage → Clear Cache

iPhone: Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Discord → Offload App → reinstall from App Store

Fix 2 — Disable Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration causes Discord to crash on startup or during screensharing when it conflicts with GPU drivers:

1. Open Discord → click the gear icon → User Settings
2. Click Advanced in the left sidebar
3. Toggle Hardware Acceleration off
4. Click Okay to restart Discord

If Discord crashes before you can access settings try this workaround:

1. Right-click the Discord shortcut → Properties
2. Add --disable-gpu to the Target field after the closing quote mark
3. Apply and launch Discord — this temporarily disables hardware acceleration

Fix 3 — Fix Discord Crashing When Joining Voice Channel

If Discord specifically crashes when joining a voice channel:

Reset Voice Settings: Settings → Voice & Video → scroll to bottom → Reset Voice Settings

Switch Audio Subsystem: Settings → Voice & Video → Audio Subsystem → switch from Standard to Legacy

Disable Video Codec options: Settings → Voice & Video → Video Codec → disable both H.264 Hardware Acceleration and OpenH264 Video Codec

Change voice region: Ask your server admin to change the voice channel region — the assigned server may be overloaded causing crashes on connection.

Fix 4 — Fix Discord Crashing When Screensharing

Discord crashing when screensharing is caused by GPU conflicts. From the Discord community:

Disable latest screen capture technology: Settings → Voice & Video → find "Use our latest technology to capture your screen" → toggle off

For NVIDIA GPUs:

1. Right-click desktop → NVIDIA Control Panel
2. Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings
3. Add Discord → set preferred GPU to High-performance NVIDIA processor
4. Restart Discord

Disable RivaTuner Stealth Mode if you have RivaTuner Statistics Server installed — this causes screenshare crashes for many users.

Switch video codec: Settings → Voice & Video → disable both Video Codec options → test screensharing

Fix 5 — Update Discord and GPU Drivers

Outdated Discord or GPU drivers cause crashes especially after Windows updates:

Update Discord: Close Discord completely from the system tray and reopen — Discord updates automatically on restart. Or download a fresh installer from discord.com.

Update NVIDIA drivers: Open GeForce Experience → Drivers tab → download and install latest → restart

Update AMD drivers: Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition → check for updates → install → restart

Update Intel GPU drivers: Use Intel Driver and Support Assistant at intel.com → detect and update

Fix 6 — Check Antivirus and Firewall

Antivirus software blocking Discord files causes sudden crashes:

1. Temporarily disable your antivirus real-time protection
2. Launch Discord and test
3. If Discord stops crashing add Discord as an exception in your antivirus
4. Re-enable antivirus protection

Windows Defender: Windows Security → Virus & Threat Protection → Manage Settings → Add or Remove Exclusions → add Discord folder from %localappdata%\Discord

Fix 7 — Fix Discord Crashing on Mobile

iPhone:

1. Force close Discord — swipe up from home screen → swipe Discord away
2. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Discord → Offload App
3. Reinstall from App Store
4. If still crashing update iOS in Settings → General → Software Update

Android:

1. Settings → Apps → Discord → Force Stop
2. Settings → Apps → Discord → Storage → Clear Cache
3. Update Discord from Google Play Store
4. If still crashing uninstall and reinstall Discord

Discord crashing on mobile when joining a call: Go to Discord mobile Settings → Voice & Video → disable Noise Suppression — this resolves call-specific crashes on older mobile devices.

Fix 8 — Reinstall Discord

A clean reinstall removes all corrupted files:

Windows:

1. End all Discord processes in Task Manager
2. Uninstall Discord from Settings → Apps
3. Press Win+R → %appdata% → delete the discord folder
4. Press Win+R → %localappdata% → delete the Discord folder
5. Download fresh installer from discord.com
6. Run as administrator and install

Mac:

1. Quit Discord → drag to Trash
2. Delete ~/Library/Application Support/discord
3. Download Discord from discord.com and reinstall

Discord Closing Itself and Reopening

Discord closing itself and immediately reopening is a specific crash behavior where Discord's auto-restart feature kicks in after a fatal error. This is different from a complete crash — Discord restarts automatically instead of staying closed.

Most effective fixes for this specific behavior:

• Clear cache (Fix 1) — corrupted files trigger the auto-restart loop
• Disable hardware acceleration (Fix 2) — GPU conflicts cause repeated restarts
• Reset voice settings (Fix 3) — if it happens during calls
• Clean reinstall (Fix 8) — if other fixes fail

Quick Fix Summary

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Not clearing BOTH AppData folders — You must delete the Discord folder from both %appdata% and %localappdata%. Clearing only one leaves corrupted files behind.

Not trying Legacy audio subsystem — If Discord crashes specifically when joining voice channels switching the Audio Subsystem to Legacy in Settings → Voice & Video resolves this in most cases.

Leaving RivaTuner Stealth Mode enabled — This is a hidden cause of screenshare crashes that many users overlook. If you have RivaTuner installed disable Stealth Mode.

Not restarting after driver updates — GPU driver updates require a full system restart to take effect. Always restart before testing Discord after updating drivers.

Related Guides

• Discord Keeps Freezing — How to Fix It
• Discord Update Failed Loop — How to Fix It
• Discord Error 2012 — How to Fix Stream and Camera Errors
• How to Clear Discord Cache — Complete Guide
• Discord Stuck on Starting — How to Fix It Fast

Also try our free tools:

• Discord Timestamp Generator — generate any Discord timestamp instantly
• Discord Countdown Generator — build live countdown timers
• Unix Timestamp Converter — convert between Unix timestamps and readable dates
• Discord Snowflake ID Decoder — decode any Discord ID instantly