18 Ways to Fix Discord Screen Share Not Working on Mobile and PC

Screen sharing is a fantastic feature to have, especially on an app like Discord. You can use it to stream games, watch movies, and do a variety of other things. If you are seeing a black screen while sharing a screen on Discord or the screen share functionality is loading forever, the solutions listed below will help. The following solutions are applicable to both mobile (Android, iPhone) and PC, unless otherwise mentioned.

1. Restart Your Device

If you haven’t restarted your computer or phone in a while, you should give it a try. Sometimes, restarting the device fixes any temporary issue that could be causing the screen share not working issue on Discord.

Here’s how to restart your PC:

1. Open the” Start Menu,” select the “Power” icon from the corner, and click “Restart.”

Here’s how to restart your iPhone:

1. Press and hold your device’s “Side” button and a “Volume” button, then drag the slider to the right.

2. After the device shuts down, press and hold the “Side” button to turn it back on.

Move on to the following guidelines if the issues persist.

Tip: Learn how to set up a Discord server, or find the best Discord servers to join.

2. Check the Necessary Conditions

Screen sharing requires basic hardware/software elements to perform correctly. If this is your first experience sharing your screen, check this list of the basic necessary conditions to screen share:

• The screen share functionality is available on Android 5 and above. However, audio sharing can be used on Android 10+ only. Moreover, Xiaomi devices running MIUI do not support screen share.
• On PC, audio sharing is available on Windows 10+ and macOS version 10.13. Linux doesn’t support audio sharing.
• Discord only allows 10 people (the current limit is 50) to share screens simultaneously. If that number of people are already sharing screening, you won’t be able to do so.
• Some apps like Netflix, and Disney+, offer protected content, hence preventing users from taking a screenshot or sharing the screen in other apps. This could be the reason why you are seeing a black screen when sharing a screen.

Tip: For sharing protected content from apps like Netflix, play them through a browser instead of the app while screen sharing.

3. Follow the Right Steps to Share the Screen

You can share the screen in a Discord voice channel or DMs; however, you must follow the right steps to activate the feature. If you’re unsure whether you’re doing it right, follow the instructions below.

Here’s how to share your Discord screen on PC:

1. On PC, join a voice channel and click the “Screen” button at the bottom.

2. The Screen share window will open. Select the app or screen to share from the list and hit the “Go live” button.

Here’s how to share your Discord screen on iPhone:

1. Join a voice channel or create a voice/video call in a Discord DM. Tap on the “Share screen” icon in the bottom panel.

2. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Tap on “Start Now.”

Tip: You can also add plenty of useful Discord bots for your server, and here are some of the best Discord bots.

4. Share Screen With Sound

When sharing a screen on a PC, the audio-sharing feature is only available when sharing an application window. Follow the steps below to share your screen with sound on a PC:

1. Start sharing the screen in Discord.

2. When prompted to select a window on the pop-up, select a screen from the “Applications” tab rather than Screens.

On iPhone, you would need to enable a setting to turn on the Microphone while sharing the screen. Follow the steps below to share your screen with sound on an iPhone:

1. Start sharing the screen in Discord.

2. Open the “Control Center” on your iPhone, and touch and hold the “Screen Recording” button in the Control Center.

3. Once the Screen Recording customization screen shows up, tap on the “Microphone” button at the bottom to turn it on.

On Android, Discord will automatically share the sound that is playing on your phone. And if your microphone is enabled, you can also talk while sharing the screen.

Tip: Increase the phone or computer’s volume so that others can hear the sound playing on your phone.

5. Update the Discord App

The screen-sharing functionality could stop working if there’s a bug in the Discord app. Before we move on to further troubleshooting steps, you should update the Discord app.

Here’s how to update Discord on PC:

1. Close the “Discord” app and reopen it; if an update is available, it will show up after you restart the app.

Here’s how to update Discord on iPhone:

1. Open the “App Store” and search for “Discord.”

2. Tap “Update” if available.

Here’s how to update Discord on Android:

1. Open the “Play Store” and search for” Discord.”

2. Tap “Update” if available.

6. Close Other Apps

Screen-sharing functionality requires lots of resources. If your PC or mobile is already running several apps simultaneously, it could lead to performance issues while sharing the screen. The best way to resolve this is to close any unnecessary apps on your computer or phone.

7. Clear Cache (Android)

On Android, you can try clearing the Discord app’s cache as well. A temporary file could be messing up with the screen share feature. Clearing the cache should fix it.

Here’s how to clear the Discord cache on Android:

1. Open “Settings” on your device.

2. Navigate to the “Apps” section.

3. Scroll through the list and tap “Discord.”

4. Inside the app settings, select “Storage.”

5. Tap on “Clear cache.”

6. Reboot your device when the process finishes.

Fix: If you are experiencing stream lagging issue on Windows, here are the fixes.

8. Exit full screen (PC)

Discord often fails to share screens when the app or screen being shared is in full-screen mode. Remove the screen from full-screen mode and try to share the screen in a normal window.

If you want a large screen without making it full-screen, simply resize the window so that it covers the entire screen but does not go into full-screen mode.

Furthermore, try using the Discord app in windowed mode rather than full-screen mode. That could also be beneficial.

9. Provide Admin Privileges (PC)

For proper functioning of the screen share feature, you should try running the Discord app in admin mode.

Here’s how to do so on Windows:

1. Click on the “Start Menu,” type “Discord” in the bar, right-click on the Discord icon, and select “Run as administrator.”

Here’s how to do so on macOS:

1. Click on the “Apple logo” and go to “System Settings.”

2. Open “Privacy & Security” from the following window, and select “Screen Recording.”

3. Make sure “Discord” is selected under the list of apps.

10. Manually Add Games to Discord Activity (PC)

Generally, Discord will automatically detect and show the game or app in the activity status. If that’s not happening, you can manually add the game to Discord status, which will in turn help in its screen sharing.

Here’s how to manually add games to Discord activity on Windows:

1. Open “Discord Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left.”

2. Go to “Registered Games” and click on “Add it.” Look for the app or game from the drop-down box and select it.

Tip: If the app or game doesn’t show up in the list, you cannot share its screen. Try restarting the game.

Do you know: It is easy to change your username and nickname in Discord.

11. Turn off the Latest Technology Settings (PC)

The Discord app has a setting called “Use our latest technology to capture your screen” that often causes screen share functionality to fail, especially on old computers. You should turn it off to fix the issue.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open “Discord Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left.

2. Navigate to “Voice & Video” from the left sidebar, and turn off the toggle next to “Use our latest technology to capture your screen.”

12. Turn off the Experimental Method (PC)

If you face an issue where audio doesn’t work while sharing the screen, you should disable the Experimental method setting in Discord.

Here’s how to turn off the Experimental Method on Windows:

1. Open the “Discord Settings.”

2. Go to “Voice & Video” from the left sidebar, and turn off the toggle next to “Use an experimental method to capture audio from applications.”

13. Turn off Hardware Acceleration (PC)

Hardware acceleration setting is present in most browsers and apps to manage system resources efficiently by the app itself. However, the same setting often causes issues due to its conflicting nature with the resources assigned by the PC, particularly on older computers.

To fix that, you should disable hardware acceleration in the Discord app and the browser or game you want to share.

Here’s how to turn it off in the Discord app:

1. Again, open “Discord Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left.

2. Navigate to “Voice & Video” from the left sidebar, and turn off the toggle next to “Hardware Acceleration” and “OpenH264 Video Codec” settings.

Similarly, turn off hardware acceleration on the browser if you are trying to share a browser tab.

Here’s how to turn it off in Chrome:

1. While on Chrome, click on the “Ellipsis” icon from the top-right corner of your screen and open “Settings.”

2. Navigate to the “System” tab, disable “Use hardware acceleration when available,” then click “Relaunch.”

Here’s how to turn it off in Firefox:

1. While on Firefox, click on the “Burger menu” icon from the top-right corner of your screen and open “Settings.”

2. Uncheck “Use recommended performance settings” under the “General” section, then turn off “Hardware Acceleration.”

14. Turn Off Auto Sensitivity

Another setting that has worked wonderfully in resolving screen-sharing issues, especially those related to audio, is auto sensitivity.

Here’s how to turn off Auto Sensitivity on Discord:

1. Open “Discord Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left.

2. Navigate to “Voice & Video” from the left sidebar, and turn off the toggle next to “Automatically detect input sensitivity.”

Tip: Select voice activity instead of Push to Talk in Input mode.

15. Clear Discord Cache (PC)

Sometimes, old cache files on a PC also disrupt the normal functioning of screen sharing functionality. To fix that, you should clear the Discord cache.

Here’s how to clear the Discord cache on a PC:

1. Click on the Start Menu, type %appdata% in the bar, and open the folder that shows up.

2. Enter the “Discord” folder.

3. Open the “Cache” folder.

4. Select all the files inside the “Cache” folder and delete them.

5. Restart the Discord app.

16. Update Your Graphics Card (PC)

Old display adapters can also cause issues while sharing screens. You should update the display adapter to fix the problem.

For that, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on “Start Menu” and select “Device Manager.”

2. Expand “Display adapters,” right-click on your graphics card, and choose “Update driver.”

3. Click on “Search automatically for drivers” to update it.

17. Reset Voice Settings (PC)

Another easy fix is to reset voice settings on Discord. This solution helps if you are particularly experiencing issues with sound during screen sharing.

Here’s how to reset voice settings on Windows:

1. Open “Discord Settings by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left

2. Go to “Voice & Video” from the left sidebar, and click “Reset voice settings.”

18. Reinstall Discord

If nothing helps in fixing Discord screen sharing functionality, you should re-install the Discord app. For that, first, uninstall the Discord app, and then download it from Discord’s website (PC) or respective app stores on Android and iPhone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Discord screen-sharing free?

Yes. All Discord users can share the screen for free at 720p/30fps streaming quality. On the other hand, Nitro Classic and Nitro subscribers go up to 1080p/60fps and 4k/60fps, respectively.

Why is my Screen Share screen is black?

Discord’s black screen share issue often arises due to a graphic card conflict. Try updating your display adapters through “Device Manager” and contact your device’s manufacturer for further assistance.

Can you turn on video while sharing to screen?

Yes. Tap the video icon while sharing the screen to turn on your video.