Did you come across the hourglass icon while using Discord, and you don’t know what it is? This guide will discuss the hourglass icon, its appearance, and why.

If Discord is experiencing a bug and the hourglass icon appears, you should wait. There’s nothing you can do either way.

But if you haven’t completed the “Membership Screening” on your server, you should do it. The hourglass icon should disappear if you do that.

Keep reading if you want to know more about the hourglass icon and what it means on Discord!

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What Is the Hourglass Icon on Discord?

Typically, the hourglass icon is used by apps and platforms to signify a period of waiting for the end-user or a feature being temporarily unavailable.

It means you should wait for something. In this context, you should wait for Discord to fix a bug or complete the server “Membership Screening“.

There’s not a lot of information about this issue on forums, likely because not many people came across the hourglass icon.

But those who did say that eventually disappeared by themselves or after they did the “Membership Screening” for their servers.

I assume the hourglass icon is an automated-response trigger by Discord to notify you about something wrong with the app.

A user reported on the official Discord support forums that he has an “Hourglass” folder in the Discord app that shows all the servers he’s banned from.

He believed that the folder should instead show all the servers on which he hadn’t completed the verification. In the end, it was a bug that was eventually solved by Discord.

How to Eliminate the Hourglass Icon on Discord?

Depending on the reason why the hourglass icon appears in your case, you could try one of the following solutions:

• Complete the “Membership Screening” on your server
• Wait for Discord to fix the bug or file a report
• Clear the Discord cache on your phone
• Uninstall and reinstall Discord on your device

I’ll be using a computer for this guide, so all the solutions (except for the cache clearing one) will be shown on a computer.

Below, you’ll find all the solutions!

Complete the “Membership Screening” on Your Server

The first solution requires you to finish the verification procedure on your newly-created Discord server. Follow the steps below to complete the “Membership Screening” process:

1. Right-Click on Your Server’s Name

First, you have to open Discord and go to your server. It’s on the left-hand side menu of the Discord app, where you can find all the servers you’ve joined.

After you open your Discord server, look up. To the right of the Discord icon, you’ll see your server’s name. Right-click on it and proceed to the next step!

2. Select “Server Settings“

After you right-click on your server’s name, a pop-up window will appear with multiple options. Some of these options are “Server Boost“, “Invite People“, “Server Settings“, and more.

Click on “Server Settings” to configure your server and complete the verification procedure.

3. Click on “Enable Community“

Once you open your server’s settings, look on the left-hand side menu bar for the “Enable Community” option and click on it.

This will let you configure how new members can access your server, and the “Membership Screening” option is hidden within this setting.

If you’ve already enabled the Community feature, skip to step 8!

4. Click on “Get Started“

Once you select the “Enable Community” option, look to the right, where you’ll see a brand-new page. On this page, click on the “Get Started” button that’s under the “Are you building a community?” title.

You can read the description to understand why a Discord server needs a community and why this option can help you achieve that.

5. Complete the “Safety Checks” Step

Now, you’re in the “Community Set-up” process, and you need to complete it.

First is the “Safety Checks” (see the steps on the left of the set-up window). If you want new members to verify their email addresses when joining the server, check the “Verified email required” option.

Lastly, you should also check the “Scan media content from all members” if you want a safer community.

Then, click “Next” in the bottom-right corner to proceed to the next step!

6. Complete the “Setting up the basics” Step

The next step is to “Set up the basics“, which means creating a “Rules” or “Guidelines” channel. You can choose a channel to host the “Rules” from the “Rules or Guidelines Channel” option.

As for the “Community updates channel“, it is only for the moderators and private staff of the channel. Again, you should select a channel to host the community updates section.

When you’re done, click “Next” in the bottom-right corner to proceed.

7. Complete the “Finishing Touches” Step

The last step of the Community Set-up process is to check the “I agree and understand” box and then click on “Finish Setup“.

You should also check the “Remove moderation permissions from @everyone” box. This option is mandatory unless you want every member to have admin powers.

8. Select “Membership Screening“

Now that you’ve enabled the “Community” feature, you should set up the “Membership Screening” too.

On the left-hand side menu, you’ll find the “Membership Screening” option. Click on it and then look to your right for the “Set up Membership Screening” button. Select that and continue with the guide!

9. Click on “Get Started“

On the “Membership Screening” page, you’ll see the “Get Started‘ button at the bottom, under the “Set up server rules!” title.

Click on it to start the screening process for your server members.

10. Add Rules and Click on “Save“

In the “Server Rules” screen, you can add any rules you want the members to respect. You have several example rules at the bottom, which you can use.

You can create customized ones by typing them in the text box under the “Server Rules” title.

When you’re done, click on “Save” in the bottom-right corner to proceed.

11. Write a Server Description and Click on “Enable“

The final step is creating a server description. Think of something that best describes your server that would attract members to it.

When you’re done, click on “Enable” just above the “Description” text box.

That’s it, you’ve now completed the “Membership Screening” for your Discord server, and the Hourglass icon should disappear.

If you have multiple unverified servers, complete the “Membership Screening” for all of them.

If the hourglass icon doesn’t disappear, it means you have another problem, possibly a bug. Use the other solutions on this list to fix it!

Wait for Discord to Fix the Bug or File a Report

Sometimes, the hourglass icon appears because there’s a bug that Discord is currently working on.

If this is the case, you can’t do anything but wait. Restarting your phone, clearing the cache, and reinstalling Discord, none of these solutions will work.

That’s because the problem isn’t your device or a problem with your app but with the Discord servers.

You could report the problem to Discord customer support if you think they may be unaware of this issue.

Search for “Discord report form” on Google, and you should find this page.

On the report page, select a fitting category and then complete the report with the necessary information. Tell them you’re seeing the hourglass icon on the app and what you’ve tried to do to solve it.

When you’re done, send the report and wait for Discord to reply. They’ll send you an email within 2-3 business days or a week.

Clear the Discord Cache on Your Phone

If you’re seeing the hourglass icon on the Discord mobile app, you could try to clear the Discord cache. If it’s a bug, then clearing the cache will fix it.

Follow the steps below to clear the Discord cache:

1. Go to Your Phone Settings

First, select the phone Settings icon. It looks like a cogwheel or gear and is in your app list on your phone.

Tap on it and continue with the guide!

2. Go to “Apps“

Next, find the “Apps” option and select it. The phone menu may look different on your device because of the different OS versions.

But the option should have the same name on all mobile devices.

3. Tap on “Manage Apps“

Once you select the “Apps” option, you’ll get to another menu where you need to select “Manage Apps“. If this menu doesn’t appear on your mobile device, skip to the next step.

4. Search for Discord in the App List

In the App List (a list with all your apps), you should look for Discord. I recommend using the search box at the top of the app list to find Discord.

If you don’t have a search box, look for Discord manually and tap on it.

5. Tap on “Clear Data“

Once you get to the “App Info” page of the Discord app, look for the “Clear data” button at the bottom of the screen.

It’s next to the “Uninstall” button. Tap on “Clear Data” and continue.

6. Select “Clear Cache”

Lastly, after you tap on “Clear Data“, a pop-up window will appear with two options – “Clear all data” and “Clear cache“.

Tap on “Clear cache” to remove the hourglass icon from the Discord app. This will clear any residual data and make a fresh start for the Discord app.

You have one last solution to try if this doesn’t remove the hourglass icon.

Uninstall and Reinstall Discord on Your Device

If nothing else works, then uninstalling and reinstalling Discord might help you. Whether you’re using a computer or a mobile device, this guide will help you out.

For Computer

If you’re on a computer, then uninstalling/reinstalling Discord should be a simple process. Go to your Control Panel by clicking on your Windows button and your Windows Settings.

Once you’re there, click on the “Apps” button.

The “Apps” option is to the left, under the “System” option and above the “Search” option. But this is only if you’re using Windows 10.

If you’re using Windows 7 or 11, the Control Panel or Windows Settings may look different.

Once you open the “Apps” window, look for Discord and click on “Uninstall“.

In the “Apps & Features” window, search for Discord using the search box and then click on the “Uninstall” button in the bottom-right corner.

After you uninstall Discord, it’s time to reinstall it. Go to Google and type in “Discord“, then open the official website and click on “Download for Windows“.

After downloading the installation kit, double-click on it and install Discord, log back into your account, and see if the hourglass icon still appears.

For Mobile Phone

If you’re using a mobile phone and want to uninstall/reinstall Discord, the process is just as simple as on a computer.

Go to your phone settings – Apps – Manage Apps – Discord – Uninstall.

The process is the same as when you cleared the cache for the Discord app. You go to the “App Info” page, and you’ll find the “Uninstall” button at the bottom of the page.

Tap on the “Uninstall” button, and after the process is over, you’ll need to reinstall Discord from the Google Play or Play Store.

This only takes a few seconds, and you’ll be ready to use Discord immediately. Log back into your account and see if the hourglass icon is gone.

Conclusion

To summarize, the hourglass icon appears on Discord to notify you about something wrong. These are all the possible explanations:

• There’s a bug that Discord is currently working on
• You forgot the complete the “Membership Screening” to one of your servers

There’s nothing you can do. If there’s a bug and Discord is working on it, you should wait. But to ensure they know about it, you should file a report.

If you forgot to complete the “Membership Screening” to one of your servers, make sure you complete it. The hourglass icon should disappear after you do this.

Leave a comment down below if you have any questions or inputs!