Mic Test

Checking a microphone before it matters

Almost every microphone problem is discovered at the worst moment: the meeting has started, and someone has to say they cannot hear you. This checks the three things that actually go wrong, in about thirty seconds.

Is anything arriving?

The level meter moves when sound reaches the browser. If you speak and nothing moves, the browser is not receiving audio at all — wrong input selected, a hardware mute switch, or a device the operating system has not made available.

Is the level right?

Aim for the meter to sit in the green and touch amber on louder words. The figures underneath are in decibels relative to full scale, so they are negative:

• Around −20 to −12 dB while speaking normally is a good working level.
• Below −40 dB is too quiet. The other end will hear you faintly, and turning it up at their end brings the room noise with it.
• Touching 0 dB is clipping, and the clipping warning appears. Clipped audio is distorted and cannot be repaired afterwards.

How do you actually sound?

The level meter cannot tell you that. The record button captures five seconds and plays it back, which is the only honest way to hear what other people hear — room echo, keyboard noise, the fan you have stopped noticing. The recording stays in the page and is discarded when you leave.

How to use it

1. Press start and allow access when the browser asks. The page does not request permission until you do.
2. Speak normally at the distance you would usually sit.
3. Watch the meter and the waveform. The waveform shows the shape of what is arriving, which makes constant background noise easy to spot — it never returns to a flat line.
4. Record five seconds and listen back. This is the step people skip and the one that finds the real problems.
5. Press stop when you are done. The microphone is released immediately.

Common uses and tips

If nothing registers

• Check the browser permission. The padlock or camera icon in the address bar shows whether this site is blocked.
• Check the input selected. Laptops often default to the built-in microphone even with a headset plugged in.
• Check for a hardware mute. Many headsets have a switch on the cable or mute when the boom arm is raised.
• Check the operating system's own settings. Windows and macOS both have a separate permission layer above the browser's.
• Close other applications. Some conferencing software holds exclusive access to the device.

If the level is wrong

• Too quiet: move closer, raise the input gain in your system sound settings, and check that any automatic gain control is on.
• Clipping: lower the input gain, or move slightly off axis so you are not speaking directly into the capsule.
• Popping on P and B sounds: speak across the microphone rather than into it.
• Echo: the room, not the microphone. Soft furnishings help more than equipment does.

What stays private

The audio is analysed in your browser and never leaves it. There is no server here to send it to. The recording exists only in memory and is gone when you close the tab. When you press stop, the microphone is released and any in-use indicator your system shows will go out.

Questions people ask

Is my audio recorded or uploaded?

No. Everything is analysed in your browser, and the optional five-second recording exists only in memory until you close the tab.

The meter does not move when I speak.

Check the browser permission in the address bar, the input selected in the dropdown, any hardware mute switch, and your operating system's own microphone permission.

What level should I aim for?

Around −20 to −12 dB while speaking normally, touching higher on loud words but never reaching 0.

What does clipping mean?

The signal has exceeded what the input can represent, so the peaks are flattened. It sounds distorted and cannot be fixed afterwards — lower the input gain.

Why can I hear echo?

Usually the room rather than the microphone. Hard surfaces reflect sound; soft furnishings absorb it.

Does stopping really release the microphone?

Yes. The tracks are stopped, and the in-use indicator your operating system shows will go out.