Where to find Discord's sound settings

Discord plays sounds for messages, calls, and alerts by default. You can turn these off in the User Settings menu, which is the fastest way to silence the app across all servers and direct messages at once. Open Discord, click your username or avatar in the bottom left corner, then select User Settings.

From User Settings, click Notifications in the left sidebar. This is where Discord groups all sound and alert controls. The settings here explore to your entire account, so changes affect every server you're in unless you override them with server-specific rules.

Key Takeaways

  • Discord's main sound controls are in User Settings > Notifications, where you can mute all sounds, calls, and message alerts at once.
  • You can disable sounds for specific servers or channels by right-clicking the server or channel name and selecting notification settings.
  • The Mute option silences a server or channel completely, while Suppress @everyone and @here only stops alerts for those specific mentions.
  • Desktop notifications and sounds are separate controls — turning off one does not automatically turn off the other.
  • If Discord is running in the background, sounds may still play even if your app window is closed, depending on your settings.

Turning off all notification sounds at the account level

In the Notifications tab, scroll down to the Notification Sounds section. You will see toggles for different types of alerts: Message, Ping, Call, and PTT set up (push-to-talk). Turn off any or all of these toggles to stop Discord from playing sounds for those events.

Below that, look for Mute Incoming Calls. Turning this on prevents Discord from playing a ringing sound when someone calls you. This is separate from the Call toggle above, so you may want both off if you do not want to hear anything from incoming calls.

These account-level settings are the quickest way to silence Discord entirely. However, they explore to every server and direct message. If you want to keep sounds on for some servers but off for others, you will need to use per-server or per-channel muting instead.

Muting specific servers or channels

Right-click any server name in your left sidebar and select Notification Settings. A menu will appear with options specific to that server. You can set the server to Muted, which stops all sounds and desktop notifications from that server without affecting others.

To mute a single channel instead of an entire server, right-click the channel name and choose Mute Channel. This silences only that channel while leaving sounds on for other channels in the same server. You can mute as many channels as you need individually.

When you mute a server or channel, Discord will still show a badge with an unread count, but it will not play sounds or send desktop notifications. You can check the muted server or channel whenever you want — muting just prevents interruptions.

Controlling desktop notifications separately from sounds

Discord has two separate notification systems: sounds that play through your speakers and desktop notifications that appear as pop-ups on your screen. You can turn off sounds but keep desktop notifications, or vice versa.

In User Settings > Notifications, look for the Desktop Notifications section near the top. The When Focused setting controls what happens when Discord is your active window. Set this to Nothing if you do not want notifications while you are actively using Discord. The When Unfocused setting controls notifications when Discord is running in the background — set this to Nothing to stop all desktop pop-ups.

If you want to keep desktop notifications but turn off sounds, leave the Desktop Notifications settings as they are and turn off the toggles in the Notification Sounds section instead. The two systems work independently.

Stopping sounds from specific mention types

Discord can play sounds when you are mentioned with @username, when the server owner uses @everyone, or when a moderator uses @here. You can control these separately in the Notifications tab.

Scroll to the Suppress @everyone and @here toggle and turn it on. This stops Discord from playing sounds or sending notifications when those server-wide mentions happen. Your username mentions will still trigger sounds unless you turn off the Ping toggle in the Notification Sounds section.

If you want to mute only one server's @everyone and @here mentions but keep them on in other servers, use the per-server notification settings instead. Right-click the server, select Notification Settings, and toggle Suppress @everyone and @here for just that server.

Checking if Discord is running in the background

Discord can play sounds even when the app window is not visible if it is still running in the background. On Windows, look for the Discord icon in your system tray (the small icons near your clock in the bottom right). On Mac, check the menu bar at the top of the screen.

If you want to stop all Discord sounds completely, close the app entirely rather than just minimizing it. Right-click the Discord icon in the system tray or menu bar and select Quit Discord or Exit. Discord will not play any sounds while it is fully closed.

If you want Discord to stay open but stop sounds, use the notification settings described above instead of closing the app. That way you can still see messages and notifications on screen without hearing anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will muting a server also mute direct messages from people in that server?

No. Muting a server only affects messages posted in that server's channels. Direct messages from anyone are controlled by separate settings. To mute direct messages from a specific person, right-click their name in your direct message list and select Mute.

Can I turn off sounds for mentions but keep sounds for regular messages?

Yes. In User Settings > Notifications, turn off the Ping toggle to stop sounds for mentions, but leave the Message toggle on. This way you will hear a sound for every message but not for @mentions specifically.

What is the difference between Muted and Do Not Disturb?

Muting a server or channel stops sounds and notifications from that specific place. Do Not Disturb is a user status you set on your profile that tells other users you are busy — it does not actually silence Discord sounds on your end. To silence Discord, use the muting options, not the status.

If I turn off notification sounds, will I still see unread message badges?

Yes. Turning off sounds only stops the audio alert. Discord will still show a badge with the number of unread messages on the server or channel name, and you will still see messages appear in the chat. You just will not hear anything.

Do Discord's sound settings sync across my phone and computer?

Most notification settings sync, but not all. Account-level settings like the Notification Sounds toggles sync across devices. Per-server and per-channel muting may not sync, so you may need to set those separately on your phone and computer if you use both.