Fix: Discord TTS ‘Text-to-Speech’ not Working

Text-to-Speech (TTS) in Discord may stop working due to outdated Windows and can also occur if you are using a speaker configuration other then Stereo. TTS may also not work if TTS notifications are set to Never.

Discord (a VoIP app) is used for chatting and is available in desktop and mobile versions. Discord TTS is used to play messages in a chat on the desktop version as TTS does not work on the mobile version of Discord. Discord TTS voice can be changed to different sounds and accents from within the application. But sometimes this TTS function stops working and the user cannot hear TTS bot sounds in a chat.

This is a very common problem in Discord applications and can be fixed using easy workarounds. Before trying any solutions, make sure you are using the updated version of the Discord app.

Disable and Enable Text to Speech in Discord

Discord TTS not working could be the result of a simple communication or software glitch. To rule that out, it will be a good idea to switch off TTS and then turn it back on. This will reset all the temporary settings and configurations stored in the application.

1. Launch your Discord app.
2. Click on the Cog icon located to the right of the user panel (just below the channel window) to open the User Settings.
3. Now select Text & Images.
4. Now in the right pane of the window, scroll down to the Text to Speech
5. Now toggle the switch of Allow playback and usage of /tts command to off.

   

6. Save your changes and exit Discord.
7. Now re-launch Discord and repeat the above steps to enable TTS in Discord.
8. Once TTS is turned on, check if TTS in Discord is working fine.

Change the ‘Never’ Option in TTS Notifications

If you have selected Never for Text to Speech notifications, then there will be no sound from TTS bot within Discord. Changing this option may solve your problem to the other two options i.e. For all channels or to For current selected channel may solve the problem. More details are given below:

1. Open User Settings as opened in solution 1.
2. Now in the left pane of the window, click on “Notifications”.
3. In the right pane of the window, head towards the Text-to-Speech Notifications. Three options will be shown: For all channels, for the currently selected channel, and never.
   
   • For all channels: Messages of any channel of any server will be played in TTS regardless of TTS command is used or not.
   • For the currently selected channel: Only messages in the current channel will be played in TTS.
     
4. Change option from Never to For All Channels or For Current Selected Channel.

   

5. Save your changes and exit Discord.
6. Now re-launch Discord and check if TTS is working fine.

Update your System’s Windows to the Latest Build

Windows is frequently updated to fix bugs and improve performance. Maybe the bug you are facing has already been patched in the latest version of Windows. Furthermore, there are numerous cases of Windows version conflicting with the version of Discord installed on your computer. In that case, updating Windows to the latest build may solve the problem.

1. Close Discord and end its task from the task manager as well (Windows + R and ‘taskmgr’).
2. Press Windows key and type Update. Then in the search results, select Check for Updates.

   

3. Then click on the button of Check for Updates.

   

4. If there are updates available, install the updates and then restart your system.
5. After your system has restarted, launch Discord and check if TTS is operating fine.

Change Speakers Configuration of Your System to Stereo

If you are using a speaker configuration other then Stereo, then TTS will not be able to function. This is known bug in the Discord community. Technically there shouldn’t be any difference, but it seems that this option conflicts with the Discord sound sometimes. In that case, changing your speaker’s configuration to Stereo may solve the problem.

1. Close Discord.
2. Press Windows key and type Control Panel. Then in the search results, select Control Panel.

   

3. Then open Hardware and Sound.
   

   

4. Now click on Sound.

   

5. Now select your speakers and click on Configure.

   

6. Now under Audio Channels, select Stereo and click on Next.

   

7. Now follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process of configuring Stereo audio and then launch Discord to check if TTS is working fine.

If nothing has helped you so far, then uninstall and reinstall Discord. For a temporary solution, you can use Discord in Google Chrome.