How to Reduce Keyboard Noise in Discord

If you game online, you know Discord — a voice service with over 130 million users . In the age of the mechanical keyboard, keeping comms clear while spamming hotkeys is harder than ever.

Here’s how to stop your keyboard drowning out voice chat, starting with the physical noise source and ending with software gates that clean up your microphone.

Buy a “silent” mechanical keyboard

Blue, brown, black, red, white and green mechanical keyboard switches. — Switch type is the biggest driver of keyboard noise.

A mechanical keyboard’s defining feature is the switch under each key. They feel great, but the trade-off is extra noise. If you’re switch-shopping and noise-conscious, red, black, and brown switches are usually quietest; blue and green are loud.

It won’t eliminate noise, but it can reduce the constant click layer. Curious how they sound? There’s a short comparison video .

“Silence” the keyboard you have

Already invested in an expensive board? A little DIY helps. O-rings — tiny silicone rings — fit on the keycap stems and stop the key bottoming out against the plate, killing the “clack.” Installation means pulling every keycap, fitting the ring, and replacing them.

Budget $5–20 / O-ring set

O-rings fitted to mechanical keyboard keycaps. — O-rings dampen the downstroke, though not the spring-back.

Optimize your microphone setup

How you set up your mic makes a huge difference. The right approach depends on the type of mic you have.

Desktop / studio mic — positioning

Every microphone has a directionality: the angle from which it best picks up sound. If your mic is unidirectional or cardioid, aim it toward you, with your keyboard and mouse behind it.

Diagram of unidirectional and omnidirectional microphone pickup patterns. — Sounds outside the pickup area are heard far less.

Cardioid microphone placed to face the user, keyboard behind. — Position the mic to favour your voice over noise sources.

Not sure of your pattern? Google your mic’s name plus “directionality.” Manufacturers usually publish it. For gain, Windows controls, echo, room noise, and system-wide filtering, use our Windows microphone background-noise guide .

Headset mic — positioning

Headset mics sit closer to your mouth, so they usually pick up less keyboard noise. The downside is breathing and plosives. Position the boom just past the corner of your mouth, never directly in front of it.

Incorrect versus correct headset microphone placement. — Past the corner of the mouth: clear voice, fewer plosive pops.

Software

Discord — balance input sensitivity

By default Discord auto-detects the input level that activates your mic. Usually that’s fine, but with a loud keyboard, manual tuning does better. In Voice & Video:

Turn off Automatically determine input sensitivity.
Drag the Input Sensitivity slider until it triggers when you talk, but not when you type.

Discord Voice and Video settings showing the input sensitivity slider. — Manual input sensitivity can work, but finding the balance takes trial and error.

Discord — use Push-to-Talk

Push-to-Talk unmutes your mic only while a hotkey is held, so unwanted noise never gets through automatically. In Voice & Video, set Input Mode to Push to Talk and bind a key.

Discord Voice and Video settings with Push to Talk enabled. — Push-to-Talk is free and reliable, but it adds a habit to remember while gaming.

Mute keystrokes automatically

Noise Blocker filters keyboard noise, mouse clicks, fans, hiss, and other common desk sounds before they reach Discord — without hurting your voice.

It works automatically, without recording noise samples or tuning thresholds. Set Noise Blocker as your Discord input device and keep Voice Activity on as usual.

One-time purchase, $25.00 — no subscription. 14-day money-back guarantee.