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Microphone Test

Microphone test: is your mic working?

Press start and say a few words. This microphone test shows your live level, tells you in seconds if your mic works, and plays back your voice.

Your audio never leaves this device.

Ready when you are

Press start and allow microphone access. Then say a few words at normal volume.

Level
– dB
Peak
– dB
Background
– dB

Record and play back

Mic details
Status
Not started

How do I test my microphone?

Start the test, allow access, and talk. If the meter moves with your voice, the mic works. The whole check takes about ten seconds.

  1. 1

    Press start and allow the microphone

    Your browser asks once whether this page may use the mic. Choose Allow. If you have several mics, pick the one you want from the list.

  2. 2

    Talk at your normal volume

    Count to ten or read a sentence aloud. The bar should jump when you speak and fall back when you stop. After three seconds the test gives a verdict.

  3. 3

    Record and play back

    Press Record, speak for five seconds, and the clip plays back on its own. That is how you sound to people on a call. For a one-click version, use the mic test with playback.

What does my mic test result mean?

The verdict comes from three numbers: how loud your voice gets, how loud the room is when you are silent, and whether the signal ever hits the top of the scale. Here is what each result means and where to go next.

ResultWhat we measuredWhat to do
WorkingYour voice is at least 10 dB louder than the roomNothing. Record a clip if you want to hear yourself.
Very quietNothing louder than -50 dB in ten secondsRaise the input volume or move closer
No soundThe browser receives pure digital silenceCheck mute switches and the selected mic
Too loudMore than 2% of the signal touches 0 dBLower the gain a little
NoisyThe room is louder than -50 dB and your voice barely rises above itCut background noise
BlockedThe browser or the system refused accessAllow the microphone

What is a good microphone level?

For speech, aim for peaks between about -18 and -6 dB. On the meter that is the end of the green zone and the amber zone. Your average level will sit lower, often around -30 to -20 dB, and that is fine.

  • Green, up to -18 dB: normal talking. Quiet speech lives here, and so does the background noise of most rooms.
  • Amber, -18 to -6 dB: the sweet spot for your loudest words. Loud enough to be clear, with room to spare.
  • Red, above -6 dB: fine for a moment, but if you see it often you risk clipping. At 0 dB the mic has nothing left and the sound distorts.

Call apps such as Zoom, Teams and Discord adjust your level for you with automatic gain. That is why a quiet mic can still sound fine on a call. It also means a bad mic can sound worse there than here, because the app turns up the noise too.

How this mic test works

The test reads the raw audio samples your browser receives from the microphone, about 60 times a second, and turns them into decibels relative to full scale (dBFS). Nothing is recorded unless you press Record, and nothing is sent anywhere.

  • Level is the RMS (average power) of the last 2,048 samples, which is about 43 milliseconds at 48 kHz. The bar rises instantly and falls slowly, like the meter on a mixing desk.
  • Peak is the single loudest sample, held for 1.5 seconds. It shows the white line on the meter.
  • Background is the 10th percentile of the level over the last ten seconds. In plain words: how loud it is in the quiet moments between your words.

By default the test switches off echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain, so you see what the mic itself delivers. Tick Call-style processing to turn them on and hear roughly what a call app does to your voice. The about page lists the browser standards this is built on.

Accuracy: dBFS tells you how full the digital signal is, not how loud the room is in the real world. Two mics in the same room can easily read 10 dB apart. Your system input volume also shifts every number. So treat the verdict as a practical check of whether your mic works and is set sensibly, not as a lab measurement.

Test your mic for a specific device or app

A working mic here means your hardware and browser are fine. If an app still cannot hear you, the problem is in that app's settings or your system's permissions.

Frequently asked questions

How do I test my microphone?
Press Start microphone test, allow access when your browser asks, and speak. If the level meter moves with your voice, your mic works. Press Record to hear a playback of how you sound.
How do I know if my mic is working?
Your mic is working if the meter jumps when you talk and drops back when you stop. A flat meter at the bottom means the browser gets no sound, which usually points to a mute switch, a privacy setting or the wrong input device.
Is this microphone test private?
Yes. The test runs in your browser with the Web Audio API. Your audio is never uploaded or stored on a server. A recording only exists in this tab and is gone when you close it.
Why can I not hear myself while I talk?
The live meter is silent on purpose, so your speakers do not feed back into the mic. To hear yourself, press Record, speak for a few seconds, and the clip plays back when you stop.
What is a good microphone level?
For normal speech, aim for peaks between about -18 and -6 dB on the meter, so your voice sits in the green to amber part. Peaks that hit 0 dB clip and sound distorted. Speech that stays below -40 dB is too quiet.
Why is my mic blocked or not allowed?
You or your system said no to microphone access for this site. Click the icon left of the address bar and set Microphone to Allow. If the browser allows it but nothing happens, check your system's microphone privacy setting. Our mic fix checklist walks through every step.
Does the mic test work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It works in current versions of Safari on iPhone and iPad and Chrome on Android. On a phone the test uses the built-in mic unless a headset is connected.
Why does my voice sound different in Zoom or Discord?
Call apps clean up your audio with noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain. This test shows the raw signal by default. Turn on Call-style processing to hear roughly what those apps do to your voice.

What next?

Hear how you sound One click records five seconds and plays them back, so you hear what others hear on a call. Mic test with playback Guides and fixes Windows, Mac, Discord, Zoom, Teams and a checklist for a dead mic. Read the guides

Looking for something else? See our other free tools.