Nothing uploaded
Microphone test
Check that your microphone works before a call. Watch the level meter, record five seconds and listen back, and see the sample rate, background noise and any clipping. Nothing leaves your device.
This browser can’t use a camera or microphone here
Update your browser, or open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. The page must be opened over https.
Your microphone
Level: –
Listening… say something.
Readings
- Permission
- –
- Microphone
- –
- Sample rate
- –
- Channels
- –
- Background noise
- –
- Clipping
- –
Background noise is measured in the pauses between words, so keep talking for a few seconds.
Keyboard shortcuts
- S
- Start or stop the test
- R
- Record 5 seconds
- P
- Play the recording back
They work anywhere on this page except while typing in a box.
If it doesn’t work
The browser blocked the microphone
- Chrome and Edge: Select the icon on the left of the address bar, turn Microphone on (or set it to Allow), then reload the page.
- Firefox: Select the crossed-out microphone in the address bar, remove the block, then select Start again.
- Safari on a Mac: Open Safari → Settings → Websites → Microphone, and set this site to Allow.
- iPhone and iPad: Tap the page menu (aA) in the address bar → Website Settings → Microphone → Allow.
- Android: Tap the icon on the left of the address bar → Permissions, and turn Microphone on.
The system blocks it
- Mac: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone: turn on your browser, then quit and reopen it.
- Windows: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone: turn on Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone.
- Android: Settings → Apps → your browser → Permissions → Microphone → Allow.
- iPhone and iPad: Open Settings, find your browser (under Apps in recent versions) and allow the microphone.
The wrong microphone is used
- Choose the right one in the Microphone list above. Plug in a headset before you select Start, or select Start again afterwards.
- Windows: Settings → System → Sound → Input: choose the device to use by default.
- Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input: choose the device.
It’s muted or very quiet
- Check for a mute switch on the headset or its cable, or a microphone key on the laptop’s keyboard.
- Windows: Settings → System → Sound → your microphone: raise Input volume.
- Mac: System Settings → Sound → Input: raise Input volume.
Another app is using it
- Close other apps and tabs that use the microphone, such as meeting, chat or recording apps, then select Start again.
- Windows: If an app keeps it to itself: Control Panel → Sound → Recording → your microphone → Properties → Advanced, and untick Allow applications to take exclusive control.
The sound stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
Did this save you time? DigiTools is free, with no ads and no sign-up. Leave a tip (opens in a new tab) to help keep it that way.
Tell others what you think: review DigiTools on Trustpilot (opens in a new tab).
How to microphone test
- Select Start test and allow the microphone when your browser asks.
- Speak normally and watch the meter move. If it’s the wrong microphone, choose another from the list.
- Select Record 5 seconds to hear how you sound, and check the readings for background noise or clipping.
Questions
Is anything recorded or uploaded?
Only the five-second test, if you make one, and it stays on this page: it’s never uploaded or saved, and it’s gone when you close the tab or record another. The meter only measures the sound as it comes in.
The meter doesn’t move. What’s wrong?
Check that the right microphone is chosen in the list, that it isn’t muted (a switch on a headset, a key on a laptop, or the input volume in your system’s sound settings), and that no other app is holding it. The steps under If it doesn’t work go through each one.
What do the readings mean?
The sample rate is how many times a second the sound is measured: 48,000 Hz is usual for calls. Background noise is the level between your words: below −50 dB is quiet. Clipping means the sound is too loud for the microphone, which makes it crackle: move back a little or turn the input volume down.
Why does my voice sound different when I play it back?
Browsers clean up the sound for calls, with noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic volume, just as meeting apps do. So the playback is close to how other people hear you on a call.