Discord is a fun and light-lift benefit to offer your patrons to build strong community bonds. But we know that things can sometimes not go as planned when it comes to integrations. Our team has created this troubleshooting guide to help you through some of the more common things we come across that can cause problems with the integration.
We’ll focus on the following areas to resolve potential issues:
You can also check the following section for suggestions on how to message your patrons for common Discord issues:
Checking in on the Patreon Discord bot
Before we dig in, here are some key things to remember about the Discord Patreon Bot:
- If the Patreon Discord bot is offline, it’s okay! The Patreon Discord bot is offline when it’s not actively assigning roles. If you find that the Patreon Discord bot is offline, it’s still working – it just isn’t in use at that moment
- Note that in order for our Patreon Discord bot to work properly, only one Patreon campaign can be integrated into a server
- Roles managed by the Patreon Discord bot should be used exclusively for Patreon, so please don’t manually add patron-specific roles to Discord users who aren’t patrons
- Don’t remove the Patreon Discord bot directly from the Discord side. Removing the Patreon Discord bot from Discord rather than from the Patreon side of things can cause issues with reconnecting and prevent it from assigning roles
- The Patreon Discord bot is delayed on the 1st of the month, so new patrons may not be added to Discord instantly. Don’t worry, though; the Patreon Discord bot will quickly reconcile your active patron list, and no action is needed
- If you have patrons with declined payments that have lost access, the Patreon Discord bot will reassign their role once we’ve processed their payment successfully
Is the Patreon Discord bot above your tier roles?
Moving the Patreon Discord Bot above your tier roles ensures that the bot can assign roles that you designate to your patrons. Not putting the Patreon Discord bot at the top of your roles list may prevent it from assigning roles, especially if it’s below any roles you’ve linked to Patreon tiers. This is particularly true if you have other bots working in your server above the Patreon Discord bot.
Here’s a quick way to check for the Patreon Discord bot placement errors:
- Log into your Patreon creator account
- Visit your Apps settings page
- If there are issues with your Discord setup, follow the instructions to resolve the issue
How to resolve Patreon Discord bot placement issues
Log in to your Discord account and drag the Patreon bot above your tier roles:
Have you removed or added any permissions to the Patreon Discord bot?
When you authorise the connection between Patreon and your Discord server, two permissions are enabled for the Patreon Discord bot that you should not change, which are the ability to manage roles and create invites for the server.
If the bot is at the top of your roles list, but patrons still aren’t being assigned their roles, double-check that these two permissions are enabled on your server settings.
If these permissions are not enabled, toggle them back on and save your changes.
If the Patreon Discord bot doesn’t have the default permissions, you should also be able to check any error states on your Patreon Apps settings page.
What if I’ve added permissions to my Patreon Discord bot?
The Patreon Discord Bot only needs permission to manage roles and create invites on your server. If you’ve added other permissions to the Patreon Bot role, toggle those permissions off and save your changes. The added permissions are not needed and may tamper with the integration.
Do you have a second bot on your Discord server?
While many creators use more than our bot on their discord server, we’ve encountered instances where the second bot can interfere with the Patreon Discord bot’s job assigning roles.
If you have a second bot on your Discord server (other than the Patreon Discord bot), check the following on your server settings in Discord:
- The Patreon Discord bot has permission to create invites to the server and manage roles
- The second bot you have on your Discord server is not adding or removing any roles from the Patreon Discord bot
- The second bot is not assigning any roles to the Patreon Discord bot – this can lead to #2 above
If there are other permissions added (or if either of the required two has been turned off), please correct the settings on the discord side of things and try disconnecting and reconnecting from the Patreon Apps settings page.
If you have a second bot that is assigning roles to the Patreon Discord bot, please remove the bot, even if temporarily, to ensure that the second bot doesn’t have permission to assign roles to the Patreon Discord bot.
Checking a patron’s connection and access
If you receive a patron message alerting you to a lack of Discord access, you can check that the patron has connected Discord to their patron account. Search the patron’s name in your Relationship Manager – if there’s a Discord username for this patron, they’ve connected to Discord successfully.
If there isn’t an associated Discord username, ask the patron to log in and connect to Discord in their Apps Settings section.
Feel free to share our help centre guide about troubleshooting Discord for patrons.
Check the patron’s tier level
If a patron has messaged you and their account is linked to Discord, the patron may have increased their membership payment amount without selecting the correct tier.
You can search for the patron in your Relationship Manager. When you click on a patron from your Relationship manager list, their member details will expand on the right side of the page. If the patron is listed as No tier or is in a tier that doesn’t have Discord benefits, you’ll want to send them a message and ask them to join the tier that unlocks the Discord role.
Once they select the correct tier, the Patreon Discord Bot will automatically add them to the server with the correct role.
Is the patron in over 100 Discord servers already?
Discord’s free offering lets users join up to 100 servers. If the patron has joined over 100 servers, they’ll need to upgrade to Discord’s Nitro offering with a limit of 200 servers or leave a different server before the Patreon bot can assign them a role in yours. We recommend reaching out to the patron and asking them to check if they’ve joined over 100 Discord servers.
Messaging guidance for creators
Below, you’ll find guidance on how to message your patrons when they encounter common Discord issues:
Prompt to update payments
Hey [ PATRON ], I hope you’ve been enjoying the benefits from my Discord server.
I wanted to remind those who have been enjoying their benefits so far to update their payments so that they won’t lose access to my patron-only channels.
The Patreon Discord integration will automatically identify those who aren’t paying members and remove their access accordingly to help me better manage my active memberships.
If your declined payment was a mistake, don’t worry! You’ll be automatically added back in when your payment is validated. Thanks in advance!
Prompt to check their Discord connection
Hey [ PATRON ], I understand you’re having difficulties accessing your benefits to my patron-only channels from my Discord server.
Let’s check your Discord connection to be sure that your Patreon account is connected to the right Discord server and that there are no other issues. If you haven’t connected, visit your Apps settings and follow the instructions.
Once you’ve successfully connected, the Patreon Discord bot will grant you the eligible role that gives you access to your eligible channels.
Prompt for patrons in the wrong tier
Hey [ PATRON ], I understand you’re having difficulties accessing your benefits to my patron-only channels from my Discord server.
It seems that you wanted to be in tier [ ABC ], which would enable you access to the channels [ 123 ]. However, from my records, it seems like you pledged to tier [ XYZ ]. If this is what you wanted, then no action is required from you, and you can continue to remain on my server under the eligible channels for tier [ XYZ ]. If this was a mistake, just be sure to re-pledge to tier [ ABC ], and you’ll be added right in. Thanks for your participation!