What this microphone test does
This page answers the three questions everyone asks five minutes before a call: does my microphone work, is it loud enough, and how do I actually sound? When you press Start, the browser itself asks whether this site may use your microphone — that prompt comes from your browser, and until you say yes, this page hears absolutely nothing. With permission granted, the tool draws a live level meter from the incoming sound, names the exact microphone that was opened (surprisingly often the wrong one), and offers a five-second record-and-playback check so you can hear your own volume, clarity and background noise the way everyone else will. Pressing Stop ends the stream completely — watch the microphone indicator in your browser or system tray go out. That indicator is controlled by your device, not by this page, and it is the honest proof the mic is off.
A good test takes ten seconds: speak at the volume and distance you will actually use on the call. Peaks around 50–90% on the meter while talking, dropping near zero in silence, is a healthy setup. Peaks pinned at 100% mean you will distort; peaks under 20% mean the far end will be straining (and reaching for their volume control) the whole call.
Reading the results
- Meter jumps when you talk, silent when you don't: perfect. Do the playback check and you are done.
- Meter moves but playback is quiet or muffled: the mic works but placement or input volume is off — move it closer to your mouth (a hand's width is typical for a headset boom) and raise the input level in system settings.
- Constant low movement when you're silent: background noise — a fan, an open window, a laptop's own fan picked up by its built-in mic. An external mic closer to you fixes most of it.
- Meter is flat at zero while you talk: likely the wrong device (check the name shown above), a hardware mute switch, or a dead mic. Try the playback check with each device your system offers.
- Playback echoes or screeches: your microphone is hearing your speakers. Use headphones for calls, or turn the speakers down — the test itself is working correctly.
Before an important call
Test with the exact setup you will use: same headset, same chair, same room. Bluetooth headsets deserve one extra warning — when any app opens a Bluetooth headset's microphone, the headset switches from high-quality music mode to lower-quality call mode, so music sounding suddenly thin during calls is normal, not a fault. And if a call app has its own device picker, check it matches the device named here: browsers and call apps each remember their own choice, and "it worked in the test" plus "silent in the meeting" is almost always two different microphones.
Frequently asked questions
How does the microphone test work?
Press Start and your browser asks for microphone permission — nothing is accessed before that moment. Once you allow it, the page measures the incoming sound level many times a second and draws it on the meter. Speak at your normal volume from your normal distance: a healthy setup peaks around 50–90% when you talk and falls near zero when you are quiet.
Is my voice recorded or uploaded?
No. The meter only measures volume; it does not save sound. The optional playback check records five seconds into this page's own memory so you can hear yourself, and that recording is never uploaded and is destroyed when you leave or refresh the page. Pressing Stop releases the microphone completely — the browser's microphone indicator turns off.
The browser says permission was denied. What now?
Click the lock or tune icon at the left of the address bar, find the Microphone setting for this site, and change it to Allow — then press Start again. If the microphone does not appear in that menu at all, check your system settings (on Windows: Settings → Privacy → Microphone; on a Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone) and make sure your browser is allowed there too.
The meter barely moves when I talk. Why?
Usually the input volume is low or the wrong microphone is selected. Many headsets and webcams have their own microphone, and the browser may have opened that one instead of the one in front of you — the device name shown on this page tells you which one is live. Raise the input volume in your system sound settings, move closer, and check for a physical mute switch on the headset cable or microphone body.
Can I test a different microphone?
Use the "Microphone to test" dropdown above the Start button. If you have more than one — a laptop mic plus a headset or webcam mic, say — each one is listed, and picking a different one while the test is running switches to it immediately, no need to stop and start over. Device names appear in the list after you have granted microphone permission once (browsers hide the names until then, so a first visit may show numbered entries). Plugging in another microphone while the page is open adds it to the list.
No microphone was found. What can I check?
Make sure the microphone or headset is fully plugged in (or paired, for Bluetooth), that it appears in your system's sound input list, and that no other app is holding it exclusively. Try unplugging and reconnecting it, then press Start again. On a desktop with separate pink/green jacks, the microphone plug goes in the pink one.
Private by design: your microphone is opened only when you press Start, only after your browser's own permission prompt. Nothing is recorded by the meter; the optional 5-second playback lives only in this page's memory and vanishes when you leave. Stop releases the microphone completely.