Test outside Discord first
If your camera works above, the hardware is fine and the problem is in Discord. That is worth establishing before changing settings, because Discord has a lot of them and it is easy to break something else while hunting.
Discord's video settings
Open User Settings using the gear icon near your username, then Voice & Video. Scroll to the video section, where you will find a camera selection and a preview button.
The preview only appears while you hold the test button, which confuses people into thinking the camera has failed. Press and hold, then look.
The two settings that cause most problems
Hardware acceleration
Found under Advanced in User Settings. It hands video decoding to your graphics card, which reduces CPU load but interacts badly with some drivers, particularly older Intel integrated graphics. If video is black, stuttering or crashing Discord, turn it off and restart Discord completely. If your camera works but Discord uses an unreasonable amount of CPU, turn it on.
Legacy Audio Subsystem
Under Voice & Video, near the bottom. This switches Discord to an older audio path that resolves a long list of microphone problems on Windows, especially with USB headsets and audio interfaces. If people cannot hear you and everything else looks correct, enable it and restart Discord.
Restart Discord fully after changing either setting. Discord minimises to the system tray, so closing the window is not enough. Right-click the tray icon and choose Quit, then reopen.
Screen share with camera
If people cannot hear you, the microphone guide applies here too. Discord allows a camera and a screen share at once, which is demanding. If video degrades badly when you start sharing, lower the stream quality: in the share controls, drop to 720p at 30 frames per second. Higher settings need Nitro anyway, and most people cannot tell the difference in a call.
Browser Discord
Discord runs at discord.com in a browser and uses the same camera path as this page. If the desktop app is failing and a call is about to start, the browser version is a fast fallback. Camera and microphone permission are per-site, so allow the prompt when it appears.
Common Discord quirks
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Camera preview only shows while holding the button | Working as designed, not a fault |
| Black video in calls | Turn off hardware acceleration, restart Discord |
| Nobody can hear you | Enable Legacy Audio Subsystem, restart Discord |
| Camera not listed | Discord launched before the webcam was connected; restart it |
| Push to talk not registering | Discord needs to be running as administrator to capture keys while unfocused on Windows |
Common questions
Discord shows a black screen when I turn on my camera.
Turn off hardware acceleration under User Settings, Advanced, then quit Discord from the system tray and reopen it. This resolves most black video cases, particularly on integrated graphics.
Why does the camera preview disappear when I let go of the button?
Discord only previews while the test button is held. It is not a fault, though it is an unhelpful design.
My microphone works here but not in Discord.
Try enabling Legacy Audio Subsystem under Voice & Video, then restart Discord. It fixes a large share of Windows microphone problems, especially with USB headsets.
Can I use Discord video in a browser?
Yes, at discord.com. It uses the same camera access this page does, so if the test above works, the browser version generally will too.