Microphone Test

Microphone Test checks a headset, a laptop’s built-in microphone, a USB microphone or a phone’s microphone before a call, a recording or an online exam. Press Start microphone and allow it when the browser asks. A meter shows the level as you speak, from silence on the left to the loudest the microphone can send (0 dBFS) on the right, with a marker at the loudest point so far. After a couple of seconds of speech the page gives a plain verdict: nothing is reaching the microphone, your voice is quiet, the level is good, or the sound is clipping (distorting). Record 5 seconds makes a short recording you can play straight back to hear how you sound to others. The list underneath names the microphone and shows its sample rate, channels and whether the browser’s noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain are on.

1. Press Start microphone and choose Allow when the browser asks.
2. Speak at your normal distance, or count to five. Watch the meter and read the verdict.
3. Press Record 5 seconds, talk, then play the recording back — use headphones to hear it clearly.
4. If you have several microphones, choose one from the list. Switch on Raw sound to hear the microphone without the browser’s noise and echo removal.

• dBFS measures what reaches the browser, after the microphone’s own gain and the system’s input volume — not how loud the room is in decibels (dB SPL). A web page cannot measure sound pressure.
• With automatic gain on (the default), the browser raises a quiet microphone by itself, so the level can creep up while you are silent. Switch on Raw sound to see the microphone as it is.
• Microphone names appear only after you allow access; browsers hide them until then.
• Bluetooth headsets often switch to a lower-quality mode while their microphone is in use, which can make music in other apps sound worse until you stop the test.
• Some systems let only one app use the microphone; close call and recording apps if the microphone will not start.
• The sound goes from the microphone to this page and nowhere else. The level is worked out in your browser, and the recording is kept in the page’s memory only until you leave or record again — it is not uploaded, saved or sent. The page works with the network switched off. The microphone is released when you press Stop microphone or leave the page.

The message on the page says why if the browser refused. If the meter does not move: check the mute switch on the headset or the mute key on the laptop; choose the right microphone from the list; raise the input volume in the system’s sound settings; and on a Mac check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, or on Windows Settings → Privacy → Microphone.

When you speak normally, the loudest point should be roughly between -30 and -10 dBFS: well into the meter but not at the end. Below about -35 people will struggle to hear you; at 0 the sound clips and distorts.

No. It is made by your browser, played from the page’s memory and discarded when you leave or record again. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Everyone sounds different recorded, because you normally hear your voice partly through your own head. The browser’s noise suppression can also make a voice sound thinner; compare with Raw sound switched on.