Test your microphone

No. The level is measured by code in this page from the live input, and nothing is recorded unless you press the play-back button. That recording stays in this tab’s memory, is never sent anywhere, and disappears when you close the page.

Check the microphone is not muted (many headsets and laptops have a mute key or switch), that the right microphone is chosen in the list, and that no other app such as Zoom or Teams is holding it. On a Mac, allow the browser under System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone; on Windows, under Settings, Privacy, Microphone.

When you speak normally, the average should sit around the middle of the bar (about −30 to −15 dB) and the peak marker should stay clear of the right end. A peak at the end means the sound is clipping, which sounds harsh; turn the input volume down.

This test turns off the browser’s noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain, so you hear what the microphone really picks up. Call apps apply their own clean-up, which usually makes voices quieter in the background and more even.

Open this page, press Test my microphone and allow it when your browser asks, then speak: the bar moves and the verdict tells you if the level is right. If the browser has no access, allow it on a Mac under System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone, or on Windows under Settings, Privacy, Microphone. The sound is handled inside the page in your tab and is never sent to a server.

Connect it first, press Test my microphone, then pick it from the Microphone list and speak into it. If you plug it in after the test has started, press Stop using the microphone and start again. For a headset, also check the headset is the one chosen, not the laptop microphone.

Try it. Open this page in your phone’s browser, press Test my microphone and allow the microphone when asked. If the bar moves, it works there; if it does not, check the browser’s microphone permission in your phone’s settings.