Make Discord Stop Lowering Volume: Attenuation + Other Tips

Turn attenuation down to prevent Discord from lowering the sounds of other apps on your PC

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: February 9, 2023

Lower the Attenuation Setting

|

Turning off Exclusive Control

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Disable Windows Communication Activity

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Tips

Have you noticed that your other Windows apps get quiet when you're using Discord? If your attenuation is set too high in Discord, it can reduce the volume of your other apps while you or somebody else is speaking. Fortunately, it's easy to disable attenuation by decreasing its value to 0%. If you can't turn off attenuation, there are a few other settings you can modify in Windows that will help fix the problem. This wikiHow article shows you ways to stop Discord from lowering other app volumes on your Windows desktop or laptop computer.

Things You Should Know

Lower attenuation in Discord on your Windows 10 or 11 computer to prevent it from decreasing volume in other apps while someone is speaking.
If decreasing attenuation to 0% doesn't fix the problem, you can disable exclusive control on your sound playback device (like your headphones).
If the volume is still too low when using Discord, disable Windows Communication Activation in "Sound Control Panel > Communication."

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Lower the Attenuation Setting

1
Open Discord. Click the app icon that looks like a controller on a light blue background.
- Discord's attenuation feature decreases the volume when you or somebody else is talking.
2
Click the gear
. It's at the bottom of the window to the right of your profile picture.

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3
Click Voice & Video. It's in the panel on the left side of the window.
- There's a setting here that will also reduce background noise on your mic called "Noise Suppression by Krisp."
4
Drag the slider under "Attenuation" to 0%. Drag the slider all the way to the left to disable attenuation, which will prevent Discord from lowering the volume in apps.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Turning off Exclusive Control

1
Open your Windows Settings
. Press Win + I or click the Start logo to open the Start menu and click the gear icon.
- If lowering attenuation to 0% did not resolve the issue, you can use this fix to prevent Discord and other apps from taking control of your audio devices. This should resolve your volume issues in Windows apps.
2
Click System. If you're using Windows 10, click the System icon. On Windows 11, click System in the left panel.
3
Click Sound. On Windows 10, you'll see this in the panel on the left side of the window next to an icon of a speaker. On Windows 11, you'll see it in the right panel.
4
Click Sound Control Panel (Windows 10) or More sound settings (Windows 11). You'll either find this in the "Related Settings" section (Windows 10) or above the "Related support" section (Windows 11).
5
Right-click your sound device and select Properties. For example, if the problem occurs while your headphones are connected, make sure they are plugged in, right-click them in the list, and choose Properties.
6
Click the Advanced tab. You'll see this at the top of the window.
7
Click to uncheck "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device"
. If you have multiple sound outputs, like speakers and a few different sets of headphones, repeat this process for every device.
8
Click Apply and OK. Your changes will be saved and the window will close.
- If Discord is still lowering the volume of your apps, continue to Disable Windows Communication Activity.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Disable Windows Communication Activity

1
Open Settings. Press Win + I or click the Start logo to open the Start menu and click the gear icon.
- Use this method if you have attenuation on Discord set to 0%, turned off "Exclusive Control" on your devices, but are still experiencing sound issues.
2
Click System. If you're using Windows 10, click the System icon. On Windows 11, click System in the left panel.
3
Click Sound. On Windows 10, you'll see this in the panel on the left side of the window next to an icon of a speaker. On Windows 11, you'll see it in the right panel.
4
Click Sound Control Panel (Windows 10) or More sound settings (Windows 11). You'll either find this in the "Related Settings" section (Windows 10) or above the "Related support" section (Windows 11).
5
Click the Communications tab. It's near the top of the window with Playback and Recording.
6
Click "Do nothing" to select the circle and click Apply. Now, Windows will no longer turn down the sounds of other applications when it detects that you have a communications application running (like Skype, Zoom, or Discord).