Microphone Test — Free Online Mic Test
Your audio never leaves this page. It is analyzed in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and any recording is discarded when you close the tab.
- Input level
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- Peak
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- Sample rate
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Start the test, then speak at your normal volume.
About the Microphone Test
Nothing wastes the first minute of a call quite like a microphone that is not working. The usual causes are dull ones: the wrong input device is selected, the operating system has muted it, a headset has a switch on the cable, or another application grabbed the microphone and never let go.
This microphone test answers the only question that matters — is sound actually reaching the browser? Allow access, speak at your normal volume, and watch the meter. If the bar moves and the waveform reacts to your voice, the hardware and the driver are fine and any remaining problem is inside the app you were using.
The recording button goes a step further. Hearing yourself back is the fastest way to catch problems a meter cannot show: background hiss, a crackling connector, a headset boom pointed the wrong way, or a room that echoes.
Your audio is analyzed inside your browser and never uploaded. Any recording lives only in the page and disappears when you close it.
How to test your microphone
- Press the start button and allow microphone access when your browser asks.
- Speak at the volume you would normally use on a call and watch the level meter: it should move clearly with your voice without pinning at the top.
- Now go quiet for a few seconds and watch the waveform. Whatever still moves is your background noise — a fan, the air conditioning, or the cable itself.
- If you have more than one microphone, use the selector to test each one.
- Record a short sample and play it back to hear how you actually sound.
- Press Stop when you are done, so the microphone is released.
Frequently asked questions
The meter does not move at all. What should I check?
First check that the right input is selected in the picker. Then check your operating system's sound settings for a muted or zeroed input. Headsets often have a physical mute switch on the cable, and some conferencing apps hold the microphone exclusively even in the background.
The meter is pinned at the top and my voice sounds distorted.
Your input gain is too high. Lower the microphone level in your system sound settings until normal speech peaks well below the maximum. Many systems also have a microphone boost option that is best turned off.
Why does my voice sound thin or distant in the recording?
Usually distance and direction. Laptop microphones are far from your mouth and pick up the whole room. Moving closer, or using a headset with the boom near the corner of your mouth, changes the result far more than any software setting.
What sample rate should the readout show?
48 kHz or 44.1 kHz is the usual reading, and either is plenty for speech. A much lower number — 16 kHz, or 8 kHz — usually means a Bluetooth headset has switched into hands-free mode. Bluetooth’s music mode carries no microphone at all, so opening that headset’s mic drops the whole link to the call mode, where voices sound muffled. Nothing is broken and it reverts as soon as the mic is released, but for the call itself a wired microphone, or any other input, will sound better.
It works here but not in my meeting app.
Then the hardware is fine and the app is selecting a different input, or it is muted inside the app. Check the app's own audio settings, and close any other program that might be holding the microphone.
Is my voice recorded or sent anywhere?
No. The level and waveform are calculated in your browser, and no audio is transmitted. If you use the record button, the sample stays in the page and is discarded when you close or reload the tab.
Why does my browser keep asking for permission?
Browsers ask each time unless you grant lasting permission for the site. If you would rather not, that is fine — the test works with a one-off grant every visit. Permission can be reset from the icon in the address bar.
Is the Microphone Test free, and do I have to install anything?
Free, with no account, no email and no download. The only thing you grant is microphone access through your browser's own permission prompt, and you can withdraw it from the address bar the moment you are done.
Does this test my camera too?
No — it asks for the microphone only. The permission request never includes video, so this page cannot see anything at all, and a healthy meter here tells you nothing about whether your camera works. That is also why nothing from your camera could be captured here: it is never opened. If you are checking before a meeting, run the webcam test as well, and the speaker test to confirm you can hear the other side.
Can a browser page really tell me whether my microphone is fine?
It can tell you the two things that go wrong most often: whether the operating system is handing audio to a web page at all, and whether the level is too low, too high or clipping. What it cannot judge is how you sound after a meeting app applies its own noise suppression — for that, the recording button here is the closer comparison.