Discord RTC Connecting Stuck — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

RTC Connecting means Discord is trying to establish a real-time voice connection but can't get through. RTC stands for Real-Time Communication. It's usually caused by a firewall, VPN, or network setting that is blocking the connection.

Affected Models

Discord (Windows)
Discord (macOS)
Discord (Linux)
Discord (browser)

Common Causes

A firewall or router is blocking the UDP ports Discord uses for voice
A VPN or proxy is interfering with Discord's voice connection
Discord's voice servers are experiencing an outage
The network you're on (school, office) blocks real-time voice traffic
Your DNS settings are slow or misconfigured, preventing connection

How to Fix It

Turn off any VPN you are running, then try joining a voice channel again.

VPNs are the single most common cause of RTC Connecting getting stuck.
Change Discord's voice server region. Open the voice channel settings (gear icon next to the channel name) and try a different server region.

The voice server region closest to you may be having issues. Switching to another region often connects instantly.
Change your DNS to a public DNS. In Windows, go to Network Settings > Change adapter options > right-click your connection > Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4. Set DNS to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google).

Slow or misconfigured DNS can cause RTC to hang at the connection stage.
Open your router settings and make sure UDP port 443 and ports 50000–65535 are not blocked. If you have a firewall app, add Discord as an exception.

These are the ports Discord uses for voice. Blocking them prevents connection.
Check discordstatus.com to see if Discord's voice servers are having an outage. If they are, wait and try again in 30 minutes.

Server-side outages are rare but do happen, especially in specific regions.

When to Call a Professional

RTC Connecting is a network issue, not a hardware problem. No professional repair is needed. If you're on a managed network (school, work), your IT department may need to whitelist Discord's voice ports.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does RTC stand for in Discord?

RTC stands for Real-Time Communication. It's the technology that powers live voice and video calls. When Discord says 'RTC Connecting', it means the app is trying to set up that live connection and hasn't been able to yet.

Why does RTC Connecting only happen on some servers but not others?

Each Discord server can use a different voice region. If one region's servers are having issues, you'll get stuck on RTC Connecting only in channels that use that region. Channels on other server regions will work fine.

Does RTC Connecting mean my Discord account is banned?

No. If your account were banned you would see a ban message, not an RTC error. RTC Connecting is purely a network connectivity issue. Your account is fine.