If you see a yellow warning triangle in Discord that says “Connection: Behind Double NAT,” your voice and video calls may lag, drop, or fail to connect. This warning appears when your network uses two routers or two layers of Network Address Translation, which interferes with Discord’s peer-to-peer audio and video streams. This article explains what Double NAT means, why Discord detects it, and provides step-by-step workarounds to restore reliable voice communication without buying new hardware.
Key Takeaways: Fixing Discord’s Double NAT Warning
- User Settings > Voice & Video > Enable Quality of Service High Packet Priority: Toggle this off to reduce packet prioritization conflicts caused by Double NAT.
- User Settings > Voice & Video > Enable Quality of Service Low Packet Priority: Toggle this on to instruct Discord to use lower priority packets that pass through double NAT more reliably.
- Put your second router into Access Point mode: Disables NAT on the second router and resolves Double NAT at the network level without changing Discord settings.
Why Discord Shows the “Behind Double NAT” Warning
Network Address Translation allows multiple devices in a local network to share a single public IP address. A Double NAT occurs when two routers in sequence each perform NAT on the same traffic. This is common in homes where an ISP-provided modem-router connects to a separate Wi-Fi router.
Discord uses a peer-to-peer architecture for voice and video calls. It attempts to establish a direct UDP connection between two clients. Double NAT breaks this direct path because the first router translates the IP address and port, and the second router translates them again. Discord cannot reliably predict the final translated address, so it falls back to a relay server. The relay adds latency and can cause connection timeouts or disconnections.
The warning itself is cosmetic in some cases — if your voice works fine, you can ignore it. However, if you experience frequent disconnects, inability to hear others, or high latency, the Double NAT is the likely cause.
How Discord Detects Double NAT
Discord runs a connectivity check when you open the app. It sends a small packet to a Discord server and asks the server to reflect the packet back to your computer. If the reflected packet arrives on a different IP address or port than expected, Discord flags the connection as behind Double NAT. The same check can also detect Symmetric NAT, which is a more restrictive type of NAT that causes similar symptoms.
Workarounds to Fix Discord’s Double NAT Connection
You have two approaches: change Discord’s internal settings to tolerate the double NAT, or reconfigure your network to remove the double NAT. Try the Discord settings first — they take effect immediately and require no network changes.
Method 1: Disable Quality of Service High Packet Priority in Discord
This setting tells Discord to mark its voice packets with a high-priority flag. Routers behind a Double NAT may mishandle these flags. Turning it off often resolves the warning.
- Open Discord and go to User Settings
Click the gear icon next to your username at the bottom-left corner of the Discord window. - Select Voice & Video
In the left sidebar, scroll down to the App Settings section and click Voice & Video. - Toggle off Enable Quality of Service High Packet Priority
Find the setting labeled “Enable Quality of Service High Packet Priority” and click the toggle so it turns gray. This removes the high-priority tag from Discord’s voice packets. - Toggle on Enable Quality of Service Low Packet Priority
Directly below the previous toggle, click the switch for “Enable Quality of Service Low Packet Priority” so it turns green. This tells Discord to use low-priority packet markings, which many home routers handle more reliably behind Double NAT. - Restart Discord
Close Discord completely and reopen it. Join a voice channel and check the warning icon at the bottom-left. It may take up to 30 seconds for the warning to disappear.
Method 2: Change Discord’s Voice Server Region
If the warning persists after adjusting QoS settings, force Discord to use a different voice server region. This can bypass routing issues caused by Double NAT.
- Open a voice channel
Click any voice channel in a server where you have the “Move Members” permission. - Click the channel name at the top
In the voice channel header, click the channel name (for example, “General”) to open the Edit Channel menu. - Navigate to Overview > Region Override
In the left column of the Edit Channel menu, click Overview. Scroll down to find the “Region Override” dropdown. - Select a different region
Choose a region geographically close to you but different from the current automatic selection. For example, if you are in New York and the automatic region is “US East,” try “US Central” or “US South.” - Save Changes
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom. The channel will restart, and all members will reconnect to the new region.
Method 3: Set Your Second Router to Access Point Mode
This is the permanent network-level fix. It removes the second NAT layer entirely. You need administrative access to the second router. The exact steps vary by manufacturer, but the general process is the same.
- Log in to your second router’s admin panel
Open a web browser and type the router’s IP address (commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1). Enter the admin username and password. If you don’t know them, check the sticker on the router or the user manual. - Find the Access Point or Bridge Mode setting
Look for a section called Advanced, Wireless, or Operation Mode. The exact label varies: “Access Point Mode,” “Bridge Mode,” or “Router Mode” with an option to switch to Access Point. - Enable Access Point mode
Select Access Point mode and click Save or Apply. The router will reboot. After reboot, the router stops performing NAT. It becomes a simple Wi-Fi access point and switch. - Connect the second router correctly
Use an Ethernet cable from the first router’s LAN port to the second router’s LAN port (not the WAN or Internet port). If you use the WAN port, the second router may still attempt NAT. - Test Discord
Open Discord and check the connection warning. It should be gone. If your computer is connected to the second router wirelessly, reconnect to the same Wi-Fi network after the router reboots.
If Discord Still Shows the Warning After These Steps
Discord Still Shows Double NAT After Changing QoS Settings
Some routers handle QoS flags inconsistently. If the warning remains, try the opposite configuration: enable High Packet Priority and disable Low Packet Priority. Then restart Discord. If neither combination works, proceed to the network fix in Method 3.
Voice Calls Work Fine Despite the Warning
The warning is informational. If you can hear others and they can hear you without lag or disconnects, you can safely ignore the warning. It will not affect text chat, screen sharing, or server functions. Only voice quality is potentially impacted.
Cannot Access Second Router Admin Panel
If the router was provided by your ISP, you may not have the admin credentials. In that case, contact your ISP and ask them to put the modem-router into bridge mode. This disables NAT on the ISP device, leaving only your personal router handling NAT. After bridge mode is enabled, the Double NAT warning should disappear from Discord.
| Item | Discord Settings Change | Network Change (Access Point Mode) |
|---|---|---|
| Time to implement | 2 minutes | 10-20 minutes |
| Requires admin access | No | Yes, to second router |
| Effect on other devices | None | Changes Wi-Fi name or subnet may change |
| Permanence | Reverts if Discord updates or settings reset | Permanent until router is reconfigured |
| Fix for all apps | Discord only | All apps that suffer from Double NAT |
If you choose the network route, you also fix similar issues in other applications such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and peer-to-peer file sharing tools. The Discord-only settings are faster but only address Discord’s behavior. For a comprehensive fix, put the second router in Access Point mode or ask your ISP to enable bridge mode on the modem-router.