In Discord on Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+M to mute or unmute your microphone. Ctrl+Shift+D deafens you: it turns off what you hear and mutes your mic as well.
On a Mac the same shortcuts use Cmd: Cmd+Shift+M and Cmd+Shift+D.
Your own keybinds
Discord's desktop app lets you add keybinds for voice actions under User Settings > Keybinds. The voice actions include:
- Toggle Mute: turns your mic off or on with one press
- Toggle Deafen: turns your sound off or on, which also mutes the mic
- Push to Talk: hold the key to talk while you are in Push to Talk mode
- Push to Mute: hold the key to stay silent while you are in Voice Activity mode
- Toggle VAD: switches between Voice Activity and Push to Talk
Discord's support pages note that custom keybinds are only available in the desktop app, not in the browser or on mobile.
Which one to use
- You talk a lot and want to cough or type quietly: Voice Activity with a Push to Mute key.
- You talk rarely, in a noisy room: Push to Talk.
- You switch between talking and listening: Toggle Mute on a key you can reach without looking.
Why the mute shortcut does nothing
- Discord is not the window in front. Ctrl+Shift+M goes to whatever window is active. In a game or a browser it reaches that program instead. Add a Toggle Mute keybind in User Settings > Keybinds for a key that works while you play.
- You are in the browser version. Custom keybinds are a desktop-app feature. Install the desktop app if you need them.
- The game runs as administrator and Discord does not. Windows does not let a normal program see keys pressed in a program that runs with administrator rights. If a keybind works on the desktop but never inside one particular game, that is a likely cause; running both the same way usually fixes it.
- Another program uses the same keys. Overlays, recording tools and other chat apps often register their own mute keys. If two programs want the same combination, only one gets it. Pick a combination nothing else uses.
- The key is on a layout you switched away from. If you assigned a key on one keyboard layout and then switch layouts, the key may now produce something else.
Mute and deafen from a ring
RadialDeck is the radial menu for Windows that we make. When Discord is in front, the same hotkey that opens your usual ring opens a Discord ring. The gallery has ready-made slices for Mute (Ctrl+Shift+M) and Deafen (Ctrl+Shift+D), next to Quick switch, Search, Inbox, Pins, Emoji, Upload and Mark server read.
So in Discord, muting is: hold the hotkey, flick toward Mute, let go, without remembering which modifiers go with M.
The ring opens for the program in front, so it is for when Discord itself is active. For muting in the middle of a game, a Discord keybind (above) is the right tool: it does not need Discord to be in front.
Every Discord action in the gallery is on the Discord page. For meetings at work, the Teams mute shortcut guide covers Teams and the Windows mute key Win+Alt+K.
Quick reference
- Mute / unmute: Ctrl+Shift+M (Mac Cmd+Shift+M)
- Deafen / undeafen: Ctrl+Shift+D (Mac Cmd+Shift+D)
- Your own keys: User Settings > Keybinds (desktop app)
- In games: use a Toggle Mute keybind, not the default shortcut
RadialDeck is free for two rings, and Pro adds a ring per program such as the Discord ring, with a 14-day trial. It is in the Microsoft Store.
Try it in RadialDeck
Free for two rings, with a 14-day trial of everything in Pro. Windows 10 and 11, from the Microsoft Store.
or download the installer (.exe)