Mic Test

Work through four layers in order. The browser needs permission for this site. The operating system needs to allow the browser to use the microphone. The right input has to be selected, since a laptop with a headset and a webcam attached often has three. And no other app can be holding it, because some call and recording apps take the microphone exclusively. If this page shows an error, its wording names the layer that refused. If the meter opens but stays flat, look for a mute switch on the headset cable or a mute key on the keyboard.

In Chrome and Edge, click the site controls icon at the left of the address bar, set Microphone to Allow, and reload. In Firefox, click the permissions icon in the address bar, clear the blocked microphone setting, and try again. In Safari on a Mac, open the Safari menu, choose Settings for This Website, and set Microphone to Allow. Then check the operating system: on macOS, System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone must show your browser switched on; on Windows, Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone needs microphone access and desktop app access both turned on.

To the operating system, a call app and a browser are separate applications, and each needs its own permission, so macOS or Windows can allow Zoom while still blocking Chrome. The browser then keeps a per-site permission on top of that. A call app that is still running may also be holding the microphone or may have changed the default input, so quit it and try here again. Permission given to a site in one browser does not carry over to another browser either.

Usually the input level in the operating system is low: on Windows it is under Sound settings, the input device's properties, and on a Mac under System Settings, Sound, Input. Distance matters more than people expect, since every doubling of the distance to the microphone costs about 6 dB. A headset boom swung away from the mouth, or a laptop mic under a half-closed lid, also reads low. Automatic gain control normally hides a quiet input, so with it switched off here the meter shows the raw level your hardware delivers.

dBFS is decibels relative to full scale. 0 dBFS is the largest value digital audio can hold, so every real reading is negative. For speech, aim for peaks around -12 to -6 dBFS, with the average level well below that. That leaves headroom for a laugh or a hard consonant without touching the ceiling. Peaks reaching 0 dBFS are never good. dBFS says nothing about how loud you are in the room, because the input volume in your operating system shifts every reading up or down.

Clipping happens when the signal asks for more than the largest digital value, so the tops of the waveform are cut flat. It sounds like crackling or harsh distortion on loud syllables, and it cannot be repaired afterwards. This page counts samples at or above 99 percent of full scale as the meter reads them. To fix it, lower the input gain in the operating system or on the audio interface, move back from the microphone, or turn automatic gain control on so the browser rides the level for you.

Nothing is uploaded. The meter reads the audio inside this tab through the Web Audio API and discards each slice once it has been measured. A recording exists only after you press Record, lives in this tab's memory, and is thrown away when you record again, leave, or reload. Download is the only way to keep it, and that saves to your own device. Pressing Stop releases the microphone, and the browser's recording indicator should go out.

They are the browser's voice processing, applied before any page or call app receives the audio. Echo cancellation removes the sound of your own speakers from the microphone signal, which is what stops other people hearing themselves. Noise suppression filters steady background sound such as fans and hum. Automatic gain control raises and lowers the level as you speak. All three help on calls, but they can thin out music or make a voice sound watery, which is why it is worth recording a clip with each one switched off.

When a Bluetooth headset's microphone is in use, most headsets leave the high-quality music profile and switch to the hands-free profile, which carries two-way audio in a narrow band, often sampled at 8 or 16 kHz. Your voice sounds muffled and what you hear in your ears drops in quality at the same moment. The sample rate shown here may still read 48 kHz, because the system resamples before the browser sees it. For a call that matters, use the laptop or a USB microphone for input and keep the headset for listening.

It is a good first check: if the meter moves and the playback sounds right, the hardware, its driver, and the operating system are all working. It cannot prove the call app is set up the same way, because permission is granted per site and per app, and each app keeps its own choice of input device and its own processing. A call that runs in the browser, such as Google Meet or Teams on the web, needs the same site permission this page did. A desktop app needs its own permission and its own input selection.