openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Discord voice: Bot joins channel then immediately leaves with "The operation was aborted" after 2026.4.5 update [1 participants]

Description

After upgrading from OpenClaw 2026.4.1 to 2026.4.8, the Discord voice channel join functionality is broken. When using /vc join, the bot physically appears in the voice channel but immediately leaves when the error occurs.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.4.8 (upgraded from 2026.4.1)
• OS: Ubuntu (AWS EC2 us-east region)
• Node.js: v25.4.0
• Discord server region: Europe (Hungary)
• Network: AWS US → Discord EU voice servers

Steps to Reproduce

1. Upgrade OpenClaw from 2026.4.1 to 2026.4.8
2. Use /vc join General command in Discord
3. Bot appears in the voice channel (visible to users)
4. /vc join command shows "Bot is thinking..." instead of immediate confirmation
5. Error appears in chat: Failed to join voice channel: The operation was aborted | This operation was aborted
6. Bot immediately leaves the voice channel

Expected Behavior

Bot joins voice channel, confirmation message appears immediately, and bot stays connected (as it did in 2026.4.1).

Actual Behavior

• Bot physically joins the voice channel (visible to other users)
• /vc join command hangs on "Bot is thinking..."
• Error message appears in chat
• Bot immediately disconnects from voice channel

Configuration

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "voice": {
        "enabled": true,
        "autoJoin": [
          {
            "guildId": "885761218676142140",
            "channelId": "885761219150086157"
          }
        ],
        "tts": {
          "provider": "openai",
          "providers": {
            "openai": {
              "voice": "nova"
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Root Cause Analysis

The issue appears to be related to the 2026.4.5 changelog entry:

"Discord: ... split voice connect/playback timeouts so auto-join is more reliable" (#57465, #60361, #60345)

The behavior suggests:

1. Discord Gateway connection succeeds (bot appears in channel)
2. Voice connection establishment starts but times out during the handshake phase
3. The split timeout logic may have a shorter timeout for the "ready" state transition
4. High latency between AWS US and Discord EU voice servers exceeds this timeout

Related upstream issue: https://github.com/discordjs/discord.js/issues/10356

Suggested Fix

1. Make voice connection timeout configurable via channels.discord.voice.connectTimeoutMs
2. Increase default timeout for voice connection "ready" state transition
3. Add retry logic before giving up on voice connection

Workarounds Attempted

• Gateway restart: No effect
• Multiple /vc join attempts: Same behavior consistently