How To Use Push To Talk On Discord

Gamers who frequent Discord voice servers have a magic button; it’s that special button that makes them audible only when they have something to say.

If you don’t know what it is, it’s called the Push to Talk feature. This feature lets you assign a button that only activates your microphone when you hit a specific button, so your barking dog doesn’t take center stage.

While Push to Talk sounds awesome, it’s not a default feature. If the idea sounds great to you, you can turn it on in the settings and train yourself to use it afterward.

While I can’t train you to use your push to talk button, I can teach you how to set up one. This article extensively explains how to set up and use Push to Talk on Discord.

How to Enable Push to Talk on Discord

As I stated above, Discord doesn’t assign a specific button as the push-to-talk button by default. You must dig into the settings, enable the feature, and assign a button to it, and that’s only for the desktop version of the app.

While you can also use Push to Talk on the mobile version of Discord, this section will focus on the desktop and web versions of the app.

Here is how to use the Push to Talk feature on a PC or a mac.

• Install and launch the Discord app if you don’t have it already. If you don’t wish to install Discord, you can also open the web version at discord.com/app for a similar experience.
• Get into Discord settings by clicking on the gear icon near your username at the bottom left corner of the interface.
• Once you’re in the settings, scroll down to the ‘App Settings’ section and click on ‘Voice & Video. Under ‘INPUT MODE,’ you can select from ‘Voice Activity’ or ‘Push to Talk.’ Expectedly, you’ll have to select the ‘Push to Talk’ option to enable Push to Talk.

Now that you’ve activated Push to Talk, you still need to assign a shortcut key to control the feature. Here is how to add a keybinding to control Push to Talk on Discord.

Note that keybindings only work on the desktop version of the app. That is, if you’re on the web version, you may not have the option to set the magic button to control the Push to Talk feature.

With that out of the way, here is how to set a shortcut button for the Push to Talk feature on Discord.

• Launch the Discord settings. You can do this by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom left corner beside the microphone and headphone icons.
• On the settings page, scroll down to the App Settings section and click on Keybinds. If you’re on the web version of Discord, you’ll receive a warning message that the feature won’t work.
• At the top right corner of the interface, click on the ‘Add a Keybind’ button.
• This will bring up a dropdown and an input field. The dropdown will let you select the action you want to set a keybind for, and the input field records the button.

Since you’re setting a keybind for Push to Talk, select ‘Push to Talk’ from the Action dropdown and click ‘Record Keybind.’ Press the key you want to use as the Push to Talk shortcut button and click Stop Recording.

Most people use the ‘~’ key because it’s one of the least used keys on the keyboard, and it doesn’t interfere with most activities you do on your computer.

And that’s how you set up the Push to Talk on Discord for PC.

How to Enable Push to Talk on Discord for Mobile

While most online tutorials only show you the steps for enabling Push to Talk on Discord for PC, the same tutorial for the mobile version of Discord is often less represented.

However, it’s still a well-known fact that many people use Discord from their mobile phones. Since Push to Talk also works on mobile, here is a quick guide on enabling it for the Android and iOS versions of the app.

1. For Android

• Launch the app on your smartphone and open the settings by tapping the icon at the bottom right corner of the interface.
• Navigate to ‘Voice and Video’ and select the option. On the ‘Input Mode’ section, change the input mode from ‘Voice Activity’ to ‘Push to Talk.’

1. For iOS (iPhones)

• Join or open up a Discord voice server.
• From the home interface of any voice server, click on the settings icon. This action should bring you to the voice-specific settings.
• Under ‘Input,’ tap the Input Mode option and select Push to Talk from the available options. Check to verify if the input mode has changed to Push to Talk.

While the Push to Talk feature also works on mobile, it requires being active on Discord. Specifically in the voice server in which you’re currently participating.

This requirement is vital since a mobile phone lacks a physical keyboard. The only way to activate the Push to Talk is by tapping on a Push to Talk button on the voice server.

If you’re a fan of this feature, you should be using Discord on your desktop. With the desktop version, you have access to keybindings and all the niceties of the complete desktop experience.

Conclusion

Discord is hard to ignore, given its numerous features, including voice servers, screen sharing, and video calls.

However, it does its job too well sometimes when your barking dog gets in the way of you having a meaningful discussion on a server.

To avoid this, you can enable Discord Push to Talk. This way, everyone only hears you when you have something to say.

Plus, it works on mobile too, although at a cost.