How To Fix A Laggy, Stuttery & Poor Quality Discord Stream

Run Discord As An Administrator

In many cases, your Discord stream is not running optimally because the application isn’t optimal. One way to ensure Discord runs smoothly is by giving it administrative permissions by running the application as an administrator.

By having Discord run as an administrator, your computer will allocate more GPU to Discord, giving it a higher priority over other applications.

To ensure Discord always runs as an administrator, follow the steps below:

1. Look for your Discord desktop shortcut.

2. Right-click on the shortcut and go to “Properties”.

3. At the top of the Properties menu, go to the “Compatibility” section.

4. Check the “Run this program as an administrator” option in the Compatibility section.

5. Finally, click “Apply” to save your changes.

Discord will always run as an administrator, and you don’t have to do it every time you launch Discord manually. 

Change Discord Channel Region

I have noticed that my Discord streams tend to lag if I am in the wrong Discord channel region since ping and connection are factors in a well-performing Discord stream. 

To have your stream running smoothly, you must be in the correct region, so you will have the best possible connection and ping. 

To change your Discord channel region to the correct one, follow the steps below:

1. In the channel you are in, click on the Gear Icon that says “Edit Channel”.

2. In the Edit Channel menu, stay in the “Overview” section and scroll down.

3. There will be a “Region Override” option at the bottom. Use the drop-down menu to select the geographic location you are closest to.

4. If you are unsure which region to set, set the region to “Automatic”.

Discord will change the channel’s region to the one you’ve set, giving you a better connection to help your Discord movie streams run clearly.

Turn Hardware Acceleration On Or Off

The following method is very effective, and I have shared this method with numerous friends already. Hardware Acceleration will make the Discord app dedicate more or less GPU, which can help you render images and videos.

If Hardware Acceleration is OFF and your stream lags, turn it ON. If Hardware Acceleration is ON and your stream is lagging, turn it OFF.

Here’s how you can enable or disable Hardware Acceleration:

1. Go to your Discord Settings by clicking the Gear Icon next to the Deafen button.

2. Find the App Settings section in the Settings menu and go to “Advanced”.

3. In the Advanced Options tab, look for “Hardware Acceleration”.

4. Turn Hardware Acceleration on or off by clicking the checkbox.

5. You will have to restart Discord to apply the changes.

This can fix Discord stream lagging issues for many people, but it didn’t fix my laggy stream issue, and I had to turn to the other methods in the list.

Enable H264 Video Codec And Acceleration

The following method is relatively similar to the Hardware Acceleration method but is related to the audio side of Discord. This time, we will enable two options that could potentially fix the stream lags.

If Video Codec and Hardware Acceleration are disabled, Discord will not use any of your GPU, meaning only your processor will run Discord, which will slow down Discord and your stream.

Here’s how you can enable the two options I’m talking about:

1. Go to your Discord Settings by clicking the Gear Icon next to the Deafen button.

2. Find the App Settings section in the Settings menu and go to “Voice & Video”.

3. In the Voice & Video options tab, scroll down to the “Video Codec” section.

4. Once you’ve found it, enable “OpenH264 Video Codec Provided By Cisco Systems, Inc.” and “Hardware Acceleration”.

This Hardware Acceleration setting is different from the previous one.

Enable Quality Of Service High Packet Priority

I showed a friend this method, and it immediately fixed his laggy Discord stream! Here, we will tweak the Quality Of Service option for Discord.

This setting will help your router track the packets Discord is transmitting as high priority, which can help your Discord streams run better.

Enable this Quality of Service option using these steps:

1. Go to your Discord Settings by clicking the Gear Icon next to the Deafen button.

2. Find the App Settings section in the Settings menu and go to “Voice & Video”.

3. In the Voice & Video options tab, scroll down to the “Quality of Service” section.

4. Then, check the “Enable Quality Of Service High Packet Priority” option.

This setting doesn't only reduce stream lag but also reduces overall lag on Discord. I'm not sure why Discord doesn't turn it on by default. 

Turn Off The Discord Overlay

I didn’t realize how much of an effect the Discord Overlay could have on your Discord stream’s performance. 

Though the Discord Overlay is a cool feature, it slows down a low-end PC’s capabilities, so you might want to turn it off.

To disable the Discord Overlay, follow the steps below:

1. Go to your Discord Settings by clicking the Gear Icon next to the Deafen button.

2. Find the Activity Settings section in the Settings menu and go to “Game Overlay”.

3. At the very top, look for “Enable In-Game Overlay”.

4. To turn off the Discord Overlay, uncheck the setting if enabled.

Now, you won’t see the Discord Overlay when you’re playing any games, which can help your streams run better.

Clear Discord’s Cache

The last troubleshooting method I’ll cover is clearing your Discord’s cache files. Cache files are temporary files that you won’t need all the time. 

These cache files can build up for a long time if you have not cleared them and can slow Discord down a lot. 

Clearing your cache data is a straightforward process and can improve your Discord performance. Here’s how:

1. Hit Windows + R to open the Run command.

2. Type “%appdata%” and press “Ok”.

3. Look for the file named “Discord”.

4. Next, go to the “Cache” file.

5. Open “Cache_Data”, and you will see all your cached files.

6. Press Ctrl + A to select every file and delete them all.

Now, all your cache files will be deleted, but it won’t negatively affect your Discord application.

Upgrade Your Internet Connection

Around two years ago, I tried all of the methods above, but none of them fixed my problem of a laggy Discord stream. I thought I could never stream games to my friends. However, I changed my Internet Service Provider and got an upgrade, and it completely fixed my stuttering and low-quality Discord streams.

Two things can cause a poor Discord stream: your PC’s capabilities and internet connection. In this case, upgrading my internet connection increased my upload speed, which is crucial for Discord streaming. So, you must maintain good performances for both factors to run a smooth stream on Discord.