Mic test

How to test your microphone

1. Press Start microphone test. The browser asks for permission; choose Allow. If you are not asked, the site may already be blocked: open the site permissions from the icon next to the address bar.
2. Speak at your normal distance and volume. The green bar should rise and fall with your voice. When you stop talking it should drop close to the left edge.
3. If you have more than one microphone (built-in, headset, USB, webcam), pick it in the Microphone list. The test restarts with the device you chose. Names appear only after you allow access.
4. Press Record 5 s, talk, then play the recording back. Use headphones if you can, so the playback does not feed into the microphone.
5. Press Stop when you are done. The browser releases the microphone and its in-use indicator turns off.

Reading the level meter

• Level is the average loudness right now, in dBFS (decibels below digital full scale). 0 dB is the maximum the input can represent, so every value is negative.
• Peak holds your loudest moment for a second and a half. It is also the thin marker on the bar.
• Clipping counts how often the signal hit full scale. Clipped sound is distorted and cannot be repaired afterwards. If the counter keeps rising, lower the input volume or move back from the microphone. A common recording rule of thumb is to keep speech peaks clearly below 0 dB.
• Format is the sample rate and channel count the browser reports for this microphone track. It describes what the page receives, which may differ from the microphone's own maximum.
• A bar that never moves, with the no sound warning, means silence is reaching the page: the microphone is muted, switched off, set to zero volume or not the one selected.

The meter shows relative levels from your system's audio input. It does not measure sound pressure in the room and cannot rate the quality of a microphone; for that, listen to the recording.

Echo cancellation, noise suppression and auto gain

Browsers normally clean up microphone audio for calls. The three switches let you hear the difference:

• Echo cancellation removes sound from your speakers that the microphone picks up again.
• Noise suppression reduces steady background noise such as fans or traffic. Turned on, it can also make the voice sound slightly processed.
• Auto gain raises quiet voices and lowers loud ones automatically. Turn it off to see the microphone's real level and set the input volume yourself.

Change a switch and the test restarts. Record a few seconds with each setting to compare. Your call or recording app has its own versions of these options, which can sound different from the browser's.

Mic not working? Check these first

1. Hardware mute. Check the mute switch on the headset and the microphone key on the laptop.
2. Browser permission. If access was blocked, allow the microphone for this site from the address bar icon, then press Start again.
3. System permission and input. On Windows, Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone must allow desktop apps; on a Mac, allow your browser in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone. Then choose the right input device in the Sound settings.
4. Another app holds the microphone. Close call, recording or streaming apps and try again.

If the bar moves here but people still cannot hear you in Zoom, Teams or Discord, the microphone works and the problem is the input chosen inside that app. For every step in detail, see mic not working: how to find the cause.

Limits

• The page cannot change your system's microphone volume, drivers or default device; those stay in your system settings.
• Device names appear only after you allow access, and some browsers show a generic name.
• On phones and tablets the browser may always apply its own processing, so the switches can have less effect.
• A good result here proves the microphone sends sound to the browser. It does not guarantee every app uses the same device or settings.

To check the other side of a call, use the speaker test; to check your camera, the webcam test.