Mute Discord sounds without leaving the app
You can turn off Discord notification sounds in three places: for individual servers, for specific people, or for your entire account. The fastest route depends on what's bothering you — if one server is loud, mute just that server. If you want silence everywhere, change your account settings once and you're done.
Discord notification sounds play when someone messages you, mentions your name, or someone joins a voice channel you're in. By default, these sounds are on. Turning them off doesn't delete messages or hide them from your screen — you'll still see them written out, you just won't hear a sound.
Key Takeaways
- You can mute notification sounds for your whole account, for individual servers, or for specific people — each method takes under a minute.
- Muting a server or person silences their sounds but keeps their messages visible on your screen.
- The User Settings menu (gear icon next to your username) is where account-wide sound settings live.
- Right-clicking a server name or a person's name gives you quick mute options without opening settings.
- Do Not Disturb mode silences sounds but still shows a notification badge on the Discord icon.
Turn off all notification sounds from account settings
Open Discord and look for the gear icon next to your username at the bottom left of the screen. Click it to open User Settings. On the left side, scroll down until you see "Notifications" and click it.
In the Notifications menu, look for the section labeled "Notification Sounds". You'll see a toggle switch next to "Message Notifications" or similar text. Click the toggle to turn it off. This silences every notification sound from every server and every person — messages will still arrive and show on your screen, but you won't hear anything.
If you want to keep some sounds on, you can also adjust the dropdown menu that says "Sounds" and change it from "All Messages" to "Direct Messages Only" or "Mentions Only". This way you only hear sounds for messages that directly involve you, not every message in busy servers.
Mute a single server's notification sounds
Right-click on the server name in your left sidebar. A menu will pop up with several options. Look for "Mute Server" or "Mute @ServerName" and click it. A submenu will appear showing you different mute lengths — you can mute for 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or until you turn it back on.
Choose how long you want the server muted. When a server is muted, all its notification sounds turn off, but you'll still see messages and a small badge on the server icon showing you have unread messages. The server name will also appear slightly grayed out in your sidebar so you remember it's muted.
To unmute the server later, right-click the server name again and select "Unmute Server". You can also set notification rules for that server by right-clicking and choosing "Notification Settings" instead, which gives you more control over which types of messages make sounds.
Mute notification sounds from one person
Right-click on someone's username anywhere you see it in Discord — in a chat, in a member list, or in your direct messages. A menu will appear. Look for "Mute @Username" and click it. You'll see options to mute them for 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or indefinitely.
When you mute someone, their direct messages will still come through and you'll see them, but you won't hear a sound when they message you. This is useful if one person sends you a lot of messages but you don't need to hear every notification.
To unmute them, right-click their name again and select "Unmute @Username". You can also mute them from their profile by clicking their username, then clicking the three-dot menu icon and selecting "Mute".
Use Do Not Disturb mode for temporary silence
Click your username at the bottom left of Discord. A small menu appears showing your status options: Online, Idle, Do Not Disturb, and Invisible. Click "Do Not Disturb". Your status will change to a red circle with a line through it, and all notification sounds will turn off.
Do Not Disturb mode silences sounds but still shows a small red badge on the Discord icon in your taskbar or dock, so you know you have unread messages. Messages will still arrive normally — you're just not hearing them announced.
To turn Do Not Disturb off, click your username again and select "Online" or whichever status you want. Do Not Disturb is temporary and best for when you need a few minutes of quiet but don't want to change permanent settings.
Adjust notification sounds for direct messages only
If you want to hear sounds only when someone sends you a direct message (not when they post in a server), go to User Settings and click "Notifications". Find the dropdown that says "Sounds" and change it from "All Messages" to "Direct Messages Only".
This way, you'll hear a sound when someone DMs you privately, but you won't hear sounds from server messages, even if someone mentions your name. This is useful if you're in servers with lots of activity but you want to stay aware of private conversations.
You can also change this dropdown to "Mentions Only" if you want to hear sounds only when someone specifically tags your name with an @ symbol. This filters out background noise from casual server chat while keeping you alert to direct attention.
Troubleshoot if sounds are still playing
If you've turned off notification sounds but you're still hearing them, check three things. First, make sure you actually clicked the toggle to turn it off — the toggle should be gray or off-colored, not blue or on-colored. Second, check your computer's volume settings. Discord respects your system volume, so if your computer is muted or very quiet, Discord will be too.
Third, check whether a specific server or person is overriding your account settings. If you muted your whole account but one server still makes sounds, that server has its own notification settings turned on. Right-click the server and look for "Notification Settings" to turn off sounds just for that server.
If you're using Discord in a web browser, also check that your browser hasn't muted the Discord tab. Right-click the Discord tab at the top and look for a speaker icon with a line through it — if you see that, click it to unmute the tab.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will people know if I mute their notifications?
No. Muting someone's notifications is completely private — they can't see that you've muted them. They'll still be able to message you and see that you're online. Muting only affects what you hear and see on your end.
What's the difference between muting a server and muting notifications?
Muting a server silences sounds and hides unread badges from that server only — other servers still make sounds. Turning off notification sounds in settings silences everything across all servers at once. Muting is temporary and specific; turning off sounds is permanent until you turn them back on.
Can I mute sounds but still see a notification badge?
Yes. When you mute a server, you'll still see a small badge on the server icon showing unread messages — you just won't hear a sound. Do Not Disturb mode also shows a red badge on the Discord icon while silencing sounds.
If I mute someone, will they still be able to call me?
Yes. Muting someone silences notification sounds, but they can still call you and send you messages. You'll see the call come in on your screen, you just won't hear the sound. You can answer or decline the call normally.
How do I turn notification sounds back on?
Go back to User Settings, click Notifications, and toggle "Message Notifications" back on. If you muted a specific server or person, right-click their name and select "Unmute". If you're in Do Not Disturb mode, click your username and change your status back to Online.