You open Discord and a small window appears instead of your servers. It says "Update Failed, retrying in 10 seconds", or "Checking for updates" for the fifth minute in a row, or it sits on a "Connecting" screen with no end. Then the countdown starts again.
These three symptoms look different but sit in the same place: Discord's startup, before the app you know has loaded. The cause is usually either something on your computer that blocks the update, or something on your network that blocks the download. This guide helps you work out which in a few minutes, then walks through the fixes Discord itself recommends.
TL;DR
- Discord's startup has two jobs: download an update, then connect to Discord's servers. A failure in either gives one of the three loops.
- Most update loops are local. A corrupt install, antivirus or a permission problem causes more of them than your internet does.
- Discord's own installation guide says to disable proxies and VPNs during installation, so a VPN is more often a cause than a cure here.
- The most reliable fix is a clean reinstall: delete the two Discord folders, restart, install again.
- If the web version at discord.com/app works but the desktop app doesn't, the problem is the app. If neither works, it's the network.
Why Discord gets stuck before it opens
Each time you launch the desktop app, a small updater runs first. It checks whether a newer version exists, downloads it, unpacks it into a folder under your user profile, and starts the new version. Only then does the app connect to Discord's servers and show your chats.
Anything that interrupts one of those steps leaves the updater stuck in a retry loop:
- A partly downloaded or corrupt update file.
- Antivirus software that quarantines the updater while it unpacks.
- A folder the updater isn't allowed to write to.
- A full disk.
- A network that blocks or slows the download: a firewall, a proxy, DNS problems, a VPN.
- A Discord outage.
The message changes depending on where it breaks, but the loop is the same. "Update Failed" means the download or unpack step failed. "Checking for updates" that never ends often means the updater can't reach the update server. "Connecting" means the app started but can't reach Discord's servers.
Is it your PC or your network? Two tests
Run these before touching any setting.
Test 1: open the web version. Go to discord.com/app in a browser and sign in. If it works, your network and account are fine, and the desktop app itself is the problem. Skip to the reinstall.
Test 2 (Windows): check the update server. Open PowerShell and run:
Test-NetConnection updates.discord.com -Port 443The host name comes from the updater log in a user-reported issue on GitHub, so treat it as a diagnostic aid, not an official spec. If TcpTestSucceeded is False, something between you and Discord is blocking the connection. If it's True and the loop continues, the cause is local.
| Result | What it points to | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Web version works, app loops | Corrupt install, antivirus, permissions | Clean reinstall |
| Web version fails too | Network, DNS, proxy, VPN, outage | Network checks |
TcpTestSucceeded: False | Something blocks Discord's servers | Network checks |
TcpTestSucceeded: True, loop continues | Local problem | Antivirus, permissions, reinstall |
Fixes for a local problem
Work through these in order. Close Discord completely between steps, including its icon in the system tray, and end any leftover Discord processes in Task Manager.
1. Check Discord's status
Open discordstatus.com. If there's an incident, waiting is the only fix.
2. Run the installer as administrator
Discord's Windows installer errors guide recommends running the installer as administrator, and as a further step setting the app in %LocalAppData%/Discord to run as administrator with Windows 7 or 8 compatibility. Do the first one first. The compatibility step is a last resort.
3. Pause your antivirus temporarily
Discord's guide says to disable antivirus software temporarily during installation. Pause it, run the update, then turn it back on and add Discord to its exclusion list so the next update doesn't repeat the problem.
4. Do a clean reinstall
This is the fix Discord lists first, and the one that solves most loops.
- Quit Discord from the system tray and end all Discord processes in Task Manager.
- Press Windows key + R, type
%appdata%, press Enter, and delete the Discord folder. - Press Windows key + R again, type
%localappdata%, press Enter, and delete the Discord folder there too. - Restart the computer.
- Download a fresh installer from discord.com/download and run it.
If Windows says a file is in use, a Discord process is still running. Open Task Manager, end it, and try again.
Deleting these folders resets the app on this computer and signs you out. Your account, servers, friends and messages live on Discord's servers, not on your PC.
5. macOS: clear the application support folder
Discord's troubleshooting guide for Mac says to clear ~/Library/Application Support/discord, check disk permissions and download a fresh installer from Discord's website. Quit Discord first, delete that folder, then reinstall.
6. Check disk space
An updater can't unpack a new version onto a full disk. If your system drive has almost no free space, free some up before retrying.
Fixes for a network problem
If the web version also fails, or the update server test failed, work on the network side.
Turn off any proxy or VPN, then try again
Discord's troubleshooting guide lists "Disable proxy/VPN during installation" among its steps. This is the part most people skip. A VPN adds a virtual network adapter and changes your routes, and the updater can lose its connection when those change. The GitHub report mentioned above describes a Windows updater stuck in a loop after repeated reinstalls, with connection timeouts to Discord's update server while a VPN adapter was active. That is one user's report, but it matches Discord's own advice.
Disconnect the VPN completely, not just pause it. Check Windows proxy settings too: if "Use a proxy server" is on and you don't use one, turn it off.
Test on another network
Connect your computer to your phone's hotspot and reopen Discord. If it updates there, your home or office network is blocking something. Restart the router, or ask the administrator if it's a managed network.
Allow Discord through the firewall
Make sure Discord is on the allowed apps list in Windows Defender Firewall for private and public networks.
Check the date and time
Wrong system time breaks secure connections. Turn on "Set time automatically" in Windows settings.
When a VPN helps with a Discord startup problem
There is one case where a VPN is the fix: your network blocks Discord, and the update or connection fails for that reason. Schools, some workplaces and some countries block Discord's domains or servers. The app can't download updates or connect, so it loops.
If that's your situation, a VPN gives the updater a path out. The practical sequence:
- Install and connect the VPN first, before opening Discord.
- Pick a nearby server, because the closer one gives lower delay.
- Launch Discord and let it finish updating.
- If the VPN causes the loop instead, disconnect and use the clean reinstall path.
Be honest about the limits. If the network blocks VPN traffic as well, this won't work. And on a school or work network, using a VPN may break the network's rules, so check them before you try. Atomic VPN uses WireGuard by default and offers OpenVPN over TCP port 443 for networks that restrict everything else, which is the setting worth trying if a connection won't start at all. If a network blocks encrypted traffic itself, this article on blocked encrypted DNS explains what's happening.
Stuck on "Connecting" when the app starts
If Discord shows its main window but sits on "Connecting", the update step is fine and the problem is the link to Discord's servers. Apply the network section: web version test, VPN or proxy off, hotspot test, firewall check. If Discord connects on the web but not in the app after a clean reinstall, sign out of any security software that intercepts traffic and test again.
This is different from the voice error where a call sticks on "Connecting" or "RTC Connecting" inside a channel. That one is covered in Discord RTC Connecting and No Route.
What to do next
Start with the web version. If it works, reinstall cleanly and you're done in five minutes. If it doesn't, change network before you change settings, because a hotspot test tells you more than any setting.
If a hotspot test shows your network is the problem, a VPN gives the updater another path out.
