Mic Test

How to test your microphone

1. Press Start microphone and choose Allow when the browser asks. Nothing is recorded until you press Record.
2. Speak at a normal volume. The green meter should move with your voice and the waveform should wiggle. If you have several microphones, pick the right one from the list.
3. Watch the Level number. Normal speech should land around -30 to -12 dB, with the meter in the green and only brief trips into orange.
4. Press Record sample, talk for a few seconds and listen to the playback with headphones. This is how you sound on calls.
5. Toggle Echo cancellation, Noise suppression and Auto gain to hear what the browser's processing does to your voice.

What the results mean

The meter shows the loudness of the signal reaching the page in decibels relative to full scale (dBFS). 0 dB is the loudest a digital signal can be; everything else is negative.

• Meter stays empty, Level shows -inf or below -60 dB: no signal. The microphone is muted, the wrong device is selected, or it is not plugged in. See the fixes below.
• Meter barely moves when you talk (quieter than -45 dB): the input gain is too low or you are too far from the microphone. Raise the input level in your system settings and move closer.
• Meter hits the red and the peak shows 0 dB: you are clipping, which sounds harsh and distorted. Lower the input gain or back away.
• Meter moves when you are silent: background noise, fan hum or electrical interference. Turn on noise suppression and listen to a recording to judge how bad it is.

The spectrum view shows which frequencies your microphone picks up. Voice sits mostly between 100 Hz and 4 kHz; a tall bar at the far left while you are quiet is hum or rumble, and a hiss across the right side is noise.

Is this mic test private?

Yes. The audio goes from your microphone to the meter in your browser and nowhere else. Recordings are kept in your browser's memory only and disappear when you leave the page, unless you download them. You can remove the microphone permission any time from the icon in the address bar.

Test your mic for Zoom, Teams, Discord and streaming

If the microphone works here, it works in the browser, so a problem in a meeting app is almost always the app picking a different device or a muted input. Open the app's audio settings and select the same microphone that shows in the box above. For streaming and recording software (OBS, Audacity), turn off the browser-style processing (echo cancellation, noise suppression, auto gain) in the app if your voice sounds thin, or turn it on if you hear echo. Check your headphones or speakers too with the headphone test or sound test.

Common problems and fixes

Microphone permission blocked

Click the microphone or lock icon at the left of the address bar, set Microphone to Allow and reload. On Windows also check Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone, and on a Mac System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, and make sure your browser is allowed.

Microphone not detected

Plug it in firmly; a 3.5 mm microphone needs the pink or the combined headset jack, not the headphone jack. For USB and Bluetooth microphones, try another port or pair again. On Windows, Settings > System > Sound > Input should list the device; if not, update the driver in Device Manager.

Mic is too quiet

Windows: Settings > System > Sound > Input > your device > Volume to 80-100%, and check "Microphone boost" under Advanced in the old Sound control panel. Mac: System Settings > Sound > Input > Input volume. Get closer: 10-20 cm from the microphone is ideal.

Mic picks up echo or background noise

Use headphones so the speakers are not heard by the microphone, turn on echo cancellation and noise suppression here and in your meeting app, and move the microphone away from fans. A headset microphone is much quieter than a laptop's built-in one.