Users communicate each other with voice calls, video calls, and text messaging in “servers,” which are a collection of chat rooms. Discord is popular among the gaming community as well as anime communities. The software has over 250million registered uses, with over a 100million people online every month. The software rose to popularity during the COVID pandemic. Due to the sudden rise in the popularity, many users were often unable to connect with the servers and faced many other issues that prevented them from using the software on their computers or phones. One of the issues that frustrated players was the “Discord Update Failed” error. Despite having a strong and fast internet connection, many people often face this error when they tried to update the application. There are many causes for this issue, like poor internet connection, file corruption during download, the issue with windows, antivirus issue, and many other possible reasons. In this guide, we will be discussing the popular workarounds to resolve this issue.
How To Fix Discord Update Failed Error
The devs behind Discord are pretty active as they keep rolling out new features once in a while. The software is not that old, considering its release in 2015. There are some reliable workarounds that can fix the update failed error in no time. We have also included other fixes that you can try to fix the error, which are not as popular but might just do the trick. Without wasting any time, let’s get to the guide. Related reading: Discord No Route Error – 10+ Working Methods
#1 – Disable Third-Party Antivirus & Windows Defender
Antivirus software or the Windows Defender sometimes blocks files of some programs due to them detecting those files as potential virus threats. Discord needs many permissions to run on the system. The antivirus software can treat them as potential viral threats and can delete the core files. They can also block the internet access of other software, which does not let them download any updates or even establish a connection to the main server. The solution to this problem lies in disabling these antivirus programs and then trying to update Discord. You can go to your respective antivirus software’s settings and disable it for some time, after disabling, close and reopen Discord to see if it starts to update or is still unable to update. How to disable Windows Defender If you do not have any type of antivirus software installed on your system, you can try to disable Windows Defender. Here is how you can do that:
#2 – Run Discord As Administrator
This fix is the most popular and has resolved the update failed issues for many users worldwide. This fix might sound insignificant, but running programs with administrator privilege does wonders in many cases, and this problem is no different. There are many applications with some operations that require administrator privileges to continue running. Discord requires many permissions to run and access the internet on the system. Running the program as an admin might be worth a shot! If you do not know how to run Discord or any other program as an admin, here is what you need to do: Now see if the issue has been resolved on not. Many times this simple workaround will get the job done. If your problem gets fixed with this solution, that is great. If not, there might be other issues that are not letting the app update. Keep following the workarounds mentioned in the guide until your issue has been resolved. Recommended reading: How to fix Discord javascript error
#3 – Rename Your Discord Updater
This is a very technical fix that requires the person to find the downloaded update file and rename it to check the issue. Locating the update file is very simple and can be done in a couple of steps. The update file can be located in two different ways. One way includes the hard way to go to the local app data. Usually, the directory for the local app data is: Example: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local Fortunately, with the help of the Windows Run utility, we can open the local app data folder in mere seconds. Here is how you can find the Discord updater via the Windows Run utility: Related post: We reviewed 18 best Discord bots to help you enhancing your server in 2023
#4 – Disable VPN
If you have any VPN software installed, there is a very high chance that it might be messing with the update. As the server to which the VPN is connected might be refusing to establish a connection with the Discord server. It could be the main root of the issue. If you are using a VPN via an application, disabling VPN is easy and straightforward. Just opening the software and turn-off the connection will do the job. Or even closing the software from the system tray or from the task manager is enough. You can also disable VPN via Windows Control Panel settings. If you are not aware of the procedure, here is how you can disable VPN via Windows Control Panel settings:
#5 – Install The Update To A Different Folder
The next task that we can do to fix the update error is by moving the update folder to a new location. The update folder can be located in two different ways. One way includes the long way, i.e., to go to the local app data folder located in the Users folder. Usually, the directory for the local app data is: Example: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local The local app data folder can also be located in a few seconds by the Windows Run utility. Here is how you can find the folder:
#6 – Check To See If Discord Is Down
Due to the high amount of concurrent users, Discord servers sometimes get down. It is relatively new software, and due to its developers being active, new features are added to the software every once in a while. Other reasons include server maintenance. Discord is used more frequently and for longer durations, unlike other software, due to it being a VoIP program that is used by millions of users worldwide. There is a high chance of issues happening on Discord’s side like maintenance, for instance, due to which the connection is facing issues between your system and Discord. It is hard to tell whether there is a Discord outrage or is it down just for you. Discord has a website that shows all details of the Discord backend server statuses. It shows issues that are faced by users from around the world. You can use the website to tell if Discord is down or is there any issue with your system. You can head over to the following website to check the current status of Discord. “https://discordstatus.com/” The website also lists all other incidents that have made the service slow or unresponsive to other users. You can also use Twitter to check if Discord is down or not. With the help of the #DiscordDown hashtag. While you are on Twitter, you can also follow Discord’s official Twitter account to see if the application is down due to maintenance or some other issues.
#7 – Uninstall & Reinstall Discord
If you have tried every single fix from this guide and the internet but are still unable to update Discord, there is still one last fix that you can try. Use this fix as a last resort only. The last fixes, as the title says, is to uninstall and reinstall Discord again. One way to remove Discord is from Windows Add or remove program utility. You will need to: This should resolve the update issue if every other workaround failed. If not, then the Discord servers must be down or facing an issue worldwide. The developers behind the applications are very active, and they keep adding new stuff to the app. Which sometimes causes issues for some people. The app does not display any errors or issues quite often. When it does, there is one issue that is nothing but a nightmare to a person who uses Discord quite often. The prominent issue is the Discord failed to update. It can be caused by many reasons. Most of the time, it can be fixed by running the application as an administrator. Sometimes the issue still remains despite running it as an admin. Many popular workarounds can resolve this issue in no time. If all of them fail, there is always a fix as a last resort. The last resort is none other than uninstalling and reinstalling the application on the system.
#1 – How do I fix the Discord update failure?
There are many reasons which can cause the Discord update failed issue. Many popular workarounds can resolve this issue. Out of these fixes, the most popular is running Discord as an administrator or by renaming the Discord updater, which is located in the local app data folder.
#2 – How do I fix the discord update failed Mac?
If you are using Discord on a Mac and facing the update failed issue, the most popular workaround is by restarting your Mac system. If you still face the issue, try uninstalling and reinstalling Discord on your system. You can also try restarting the updater couple of times to see if the issue is resolved or not.
#3 – How to fix the discord update failed loop?
The simplest solution to this issue is by running Discord as an administrator. For that, head over to your desktop and find the Discord app icon. Right-click the icon and select “Run as administrator”. This fix has resolved the update failed loop issue for many users around the world.
#4 – How do I stop discord from automatically updating?
Unfortunately, Discord does not have an option that will stop the application from updating automatically. In the future, however, the developers might add a feature for opt-out of auto-updating new app versions. The application was released not so long ago and is relatively new. The devs are also quite active. The application gets updated quite often due to the new number of features being added to the app. For more info regarding other Discord problems, I am covering all types of Discord guides here.
