Discord is an app that is designed for gamers to chat with other gamers while playing. Its feature of the overlay makes it possible for gamers to chat with their friends on Discord while playing games full-screen. This feature makes coordination between the team members in multiplayer games much easier. However, some Discord users have reported that they are facing a problem of Discord overlay not working. This can affect many gamers because, without this feature, they will not be able to communicate with their friends while playing. If you are facing this problem, then do not worry. I will be discussing some effective solutions to fix this problem quickly.     

Reasons for discord overlay not working

This problem can be caused due to the following reasons:-

Overlay option

Sometimes, this problem can be caused due to the option of Overlay itself. There are users who are not well aware of its settings and hence they are not able to properly configure the settings. 

Antivirus

The antivirus software can also interrupt the process of Discord and cause this problem.

Scaled Windows display

Also, if you are using a scaled display for Windows, it can hide Discord.

Location of Overlay  

The users can change the location of Discord Overlay to any location they like. Due to this feature, many users end up moving Discord out of the screen, which generally occurs due to the scaling of the display. Like, if you place the overlay at the edge of the screen and then scale your display, it will move out of the screen. 

Hardware acceleration

This is the feature to use the hardware of the computer to efficiently do some specific functions which will be done slowly if done through the normal process. And sometimes, if this feature is enabled, it can lead to this Discord problem.

Solutions for fixing discord overlay not working

So, let us check out the effective solutions that can fix this Discord problem:-

Solution 1. Enable Discord overlay in the in-game option

The first thing that you should do before moving to other solutions is to see if the Discord overlay is enabled or not. To enable it, you can follow the steps below.

  • Open the Start menu and click on the gear icon. This will open the window of “User Settings”. 
  • Go to the left pane of the window and select the “Overlay” option. On the next window, locate the option of “Enable in-game overlay” and toggle the switch on. 
  • Then, select the option of “Games” from the left pane. If the feature of the “In-game overlay” is not enabled, you have to click on the button of monitor beside the game in the list of added games. However, if the game you are playing is not listed, open the game and then after that, select the option of “Add it”. 

Now, run your game and see if the Discord overlay not working problem is fixed or not. If the problem still persists, you can go to the next solution.

Solution 2. Add Discord to your antivirus software’s whitelist

You can face this Discord problem if you are using any third-party antivirus software. This software will interfere with the process of Discord and cause this problem. However, you can solve this problem by adding Discord to the antivirus software’s whitelist. After this, it will not interfere with the Discord process and you will no longer face Discord overlay not working WOW (Word Of Warcraft) problem anymore. 

Solution 3. Adjust the scale of your display

There are many users who found that they were facing this problem because of the scale of their display. The normal scale is 100%, and if it goes beyond this, the display will not fit within the screen and you can face this problem. Follow the steps below to solve this problem:-

  • Press the I and Windows button simultaneously. 
  • In the new window, you have to select the option of “System”. 
  • From the drop-down menu, go to the section of “Scale and layout” and select the option of “100% (Recommended)”.

After the scaling is complete, run the game one more time. The discord overlay not working problem will most probably be solved. However, if you are still experiencing the problem, move to the next solution. 

Solution 4. Change the position of Overlay

Sometimes the reason for this problem is just the position of Overlay. Since Discord provides the feature of moving the overlay, you might have accidentally moved it away from the screen. So, all you have to do is to bring the overlay back on the screen. 

  • Open Discord after closing the game that you are currently playing. 
  • After that, while you are still on Discord, you have to press the I, SHIFT, and CTRL keys simultaneously. This will bring up a console of javascript. 
  • On this page, go to the top right corner of the screen and click on the icon of the right arrow.
  • From the drop-down menu, you have to click on the option of “Applications’. 
  • Now, on the new window, you have to double-click on the option of “Local Storage”. 
  • When the list will open, you will see a new entry in the list. This entry will be “https:\\discordapp.com”. Select this option. 
  • In the next column, you have to locate the option of “OverlayStoreV2” and right-click on it. 
  • From the pop-up menu, you have to select the option of “Delete”. 
  • Then, restart Discord. 

After the process is complete, launch the game and see if the Discord overlay not working WOW is fixed or not. This process will bring the Discord back to its default position. You can try the next solution if the problem is not fixed yet. 

Solution 5. Disabling the Discord hardware acceleration

There is a feature in Discord that helps it to run smoother by using the GPU. This feature is called hardware acceleration. However, it has been seen by many users that this feature is interrupting with Discord overlay and causing the problem. If enabling this feature causes this problem, then it is better to disable it and see if the problem is solved. 

  • Double click on the DIscord icon to open it. On the home page of Discord, click on the icon of the gear. This will open the page of “User Settings”. 
  • Here, click on the option of “Appearance” from the left panel. Locate the option of “Hardware Acceleration” and toggle the switch off if it is turned on. 

After this process is complete, launch your game and see if the Discord overlay not working problem is there or not. 

Solution 6. Reinstalling Discord

If you find that none of the above methods are able to solve your problem, then you can try reinstalling the application of Discord. For that,

  • Press the R and Windows keys simultaneously to open the dialog box of Run. Within the box of Run, type in “Control” and hit Enter. This will bring up the window of “Control Panel”. 
  • Here, you have to set the “View by” option to “Category”. Then, select “Uninstall a program”.
  • On this page, locate the option of “Discord” and double click on it. This will uninstall Discord. 
  • Now, restart your computer. 
  • Then, go to the official website of Discord and download it. Then install it by following the on-screen instructions. 
  • After the installation is complete, open the application of Discord. Then, launch the game and then add it to Discord. 
  • Lastly, you have to enable the feature of the in-game overlay. 

After the process is complete, the Discord overlay not working problem will most likely get solved. 

Parting words

It is very annoying when you are facing a communication problem while playing games. You can use the above methods to solve this problem. These solutions are very effective and easy to follow. However, it is also seen that most of this Discord problem is caused due to a wrong configuration of VPN connections. To avoid this Discord overlay not working WOW problem, make sure that you only use the VPN services which have User Datagram Protocol or UDP.