There is no doubt that Discord is one of the best communication platforms available on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. That said, like any application, even those made by the best app developers in Houston, Discord occasionally suffers from bugs, errors, and freezes.
The good news is, in most cases, all it takes is a good old restart to fix the problems you might encounter in this app. The bad news is that restarting Discord may be more complex than most other apps. That’s what this guide is for.
Let’s get into it.
Restarting Discord on Desktop
There are a few ways to quit or restart the Discord desktop app. This section of the guide will also deal with restarting Discord in your browser, so stick around if you prefer to use the app this way.
Option #1: The “X” Button
Clicking the cross (or “X”) at the top-right corner is the most common method for closing any Windows app. If you’ve used Microsoft’s operating system before, you’ve likely used this button more than a few times, but its shape and location are intuitive enough that even first-time users can figure out what it is for.
However, when you click the close button in Discord, it minimizes to tray rather than closing. That means you can’t actually restart the app this way.
To change this, enter the User Settings within the app, and navigate to Windows Settings. Here, you will need to disable the Minimize to Tray option. Once you’ve done this, Discord will behave like most other Windows apps and close when you press the “X” button.
This enables you to shut down the app and start it again to resolve any issue you might have.
Option #2: Quit Discord from Tray
If you don’t want to fiddle with the options and change how the “X” button behaves, or the previous method doesn’t seem to work for whatever reason, you can attempt to close the app from the system tray.
On any relatively modern Windows system, the system tray is on the right-hand side of the taskbar (bottom-right of the screen, near the date and time). Upon clicking the small upward arrow, Discord’s logo should appear if the app is running. All you need to do is right-click the icon and select Quit Discord.
Try to start Discord again after closing it, and check to see if it is working correctly now.
Option #3: Use the Task Manager
A frozen or crashed application can adversely affect Windows’ performance in a very obvious way. In this case, closing Discord via the system tray may even be impossible. The Task Manager provides a way out.
You can open Task Manager quickly by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Escape. Alternatively, use Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select Task Manager from the menu that opens up. It doesn’t even matter if you haven’t got access to a keyboard or if some of the required keys don’t work. You can also access Task Manager by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting it from the pop-up menu.
When Task Manager opens, click More Details in the bottom-left of the window to expand it.
Sort the Processes tab by name and locate Discord. Right-click the process and select End Task to force close the app. Discord should be closed at this point, but if you’re unsure, scroll through the entire list for any other Discord processes and kill those. The easiest way to do this is to repeatedly press the letter “D” on your keyboard and cycle through all of the processes beginning with this letter.
Relaunch the desktop application once you have closed all processes related to it. You should no longer experience any problems.
Option #4: Restart Your Computer
If none of these methods fixes your problem, or if you cannot even access Task Manager or the system tray, restarting your computer is the simplest solution.
Shut down or restart your computer from the Start Menu. Manually shutting down your computer may be necessary if the above is impossible.
Check that Discord is working correctly after restarting your computer.
Alternative Scenario: Restarting the Browser App
You can access the app via your browser if you haven’t downloaded and installed the Discord windows client. All you need to do to restart this version of the app is close the tab in which you have it open or close the entire browser.
The quickest way to access the tab you closed last is by pressing Ctrl + Shift + T. Check if your issues have been resolved by testing the browser application again. It may be necessary to close the browser via Task Manager, as described in Option #3 if the Discord tab freezes your browser.
Restarting Discord on Mobile
Most Discord users prefer using the app exclusively on their phones or along with the desktop application. The interface of Discord is simple, intuitive, and well-optimized, regardless of whether you have an Android or an iPhone.
Despite Discord’s excellent reliability, learning how to restart it on mobile devices is worthwhile.
Android
On Android, you can close an app in a variety of ways. The easiest one is by pressing the menu button and swiping the app away from the screen. Android users who do not use the traditional navigation bar will need to drag upwards and hold for a few seconds before seeing the app list.
However, it is important to note that this method does not always force apps to close, which is why you may still encounter problems. Not to worry, though; we haven’t run out of options.
You can access settings on an Android phone by dragging down the top bar and clicking the Settings cogwheel. Find the Apps section. Here, select Discord and tap Force Stop. Your issue should now be resolved.
iOS
The process is pretty similar on Apple devices. Nevertheless, we’ve put together a quick guide to get you started.
Force-closing an app requires entering the App Switcher. You can do this by dragging from the bottom of the screen towards the middle and releasing. When the cards of your open apps appear, swipe up on Discord, and it will close.
Closing Thoughts
Whether you are using Android, iOS, or Windows, you now know what to do if Discord needs to be restarted. Hopefully, one of the solutions above helps you resolve any issue with the app. Good luck!