How to Disable Hardware Acceleration in Discord

What is Hardware Acceleration in Discord?

Hardware acceleration in Discord uses your computer's GPU (graphics card) to handle certain tasks that would normally be processed by the CPU. While this can improve performance on some systems, it can also cause issues like crashes, screen flickering, streaming problems, or high CPU usage on others.

When to Disable Hardware Acceleration

Common issues that hardware acceleration can cause:

Discord crashes frequently or unexpectedly
Screen sharing shows black screens
Video calls freeze or stutter
Discord window flickers or has visual glitches
High CPU usage even when Discord is idle
Slow performance or lag in Discord interface
Compatibility issues with screen recording software

How to Disable Hardware Acceleration

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open Discord (desktop application or web browser)
Click the gear icon (⚙️) next to your username at the bottom left
In the left sidebar, scroll down to find "Advanced"
Click on "Advanced"
Look for "Hardware Acceleration" setting
Toggle the switch to OFF (it should turn grey)
Discord will show a popup asking you to restart
Click "Okay" to restart Discord

💡 Important: You must restart Discord completely for the changes to take effect. The setting won't apply until after the restart.

Alternative Method (If Discord Won't Open)

If Discord crashes on startup and you can't access settings:

Windows Method

Press Windows + R to open Run dialog
Type %appdata%\discord and press Enter
Open the "settings.json" file with Notepad
Find the line: "HARDWARE_ACCELERATION": true
Change true to false
Save the file and restart Discord

Mac Method

Open Finder and press Cmd + Shift + G
Type: ~/Library/Application Support/discord
Edit the "settings.json" file
Change hardware acceleration to false as above
Save and restart Discord

Linux Method

Open terminal
Navigate to: ~/.config/discord
Edit settings.json: nano settings.json
Modify the hardware acceleration setting
Save and restart Discord

Discord Web Browser Settings

If you're using Discord in a web browser, you can disable hardware acceleration in the browser itself:

Chrome/Chromium Browsers

Click the three dots menu (⋮) in top right
Go to Settings
Click "Advanced" at the bottom
Go to "System"
Turn OFF "Use hardware acceleration when available"
Restart the browser

Firefox

Type about:config in the address bar
Search for layers.acceleration.force-enabled
Set it to false
Restart Firefox

What Changes After Disabling

Positive Effects (Common Issues Fixed)

✅ Reduced crashes and stability issues
✅ Fixed black screen sharing problems
✅ Eliminated visual glitches and flickering
✅ Better compatibility with older graphics drivers
✅ Resolved high CPU usage in some cases
✅ Fixed streaming and recording conflicts

Potential Drawbacks

⚠️ Slightly higher CPU usage for video processing
⚠️ Potentially lower performance on very old computers
⚠️ Some animations may be less smooth
⚠️ Video calls might use more system resources

💡 Performance Note: For most users, the benefits of disabling hardware acceleration (stability and compatibility) outweigh the minor performance differences.

Testing the Changes

Verify the Setting is Applied

Open Discord settings again
Go to Advanced section
Confirm Hardware Acceleration is OFF
If it reverted to ON, try the manual file editing method

Test Problem Areas

Screen Sharing: Try sharing your screen in a voice call
Video Calls: Test video calling functionality
General Usage: Use Discord normally for a few hours
Streaming: If you stream, test OBS/streaming software compatibility

When Hardware Acceleration Should Stay Enabled

Consider keeping hardware acceleration ON if:

You have a powerful, modern graphics card
You experience no crashes or issues
You notice significantly better performance with it enabled
You use Discord for high-resolution video streaming frequently
Your system has limited CPU power but good GPU power

Troubleshooting After Disabling

If Issues Persist

Update Graphics Drivers: Ensure you have the latest drivers
Clear Discord Cache: Delete cache files and restart
Reinstall Discord: Complete reinstallation may be needed
Check Other Software: Disable other overlay software temporarily

If New Issues Appear

Monitor CPU usage to see if it increases significantly
Test video call quality compared to before
If performance is much worse, you can re-enable hardware acceleration

Related Graphics Settings

Windows Graphics Settings

Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings
Add Discord as a "Classic app"
Set graphics preference to "Power saving" instead of "High performance"
This can help with compatibility issues

NVIDIA/AMD Graphics Settings

NVIDIA: In GeForce Experience, try disabling overlay for Discord
AMD: In Radeon Software, disable overlay features if problematic
Both can conflict with Discord's hardware acceleration

Mobile Discord Considerations

Hardware acceleration settings are not available in Discord mobile apps. Mobile devices handle graphics processing differently, and these issues are primarily desktop-related.

⚠️ Backup Tip: Before editing settings.json manually, make a backup copy of the file. If something goes wrong, you can restore the original settings.

When to Re-enable Hardware Acceleration

You might want to try enabling it again if:

You update your graphics drivers
You upgrade your graphics card
Discord releases a major update
You experience performance issues with it disabled
Issues you were experiencing get fixed in Discord updates

✅ Success Indicator: After disabling hardware acceleration, Discord should feel more stable, crashes should stop, and screen sharing/video issues should be resolved. If you don't notice improvements, the issues may be caused by other factors.