How to use it· 4 steps
- Press Start microphone test and choose Allow. Nothing is requested before that.
- Speak normally and watch the meter — for speech, aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS.
- Press Record 5 seconds and play back to hear yourself the way others will.
- If the meter stays flat, work through the checks shown, or pick another microphone from the list.
Step by step
How to use the mic test
- 1Press Start microphone test and choose Allow. Nothing is requested before that.
- 2Speak normally and watch the meter — for speech, aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS.
- 3Press Record 5 seconds and play back to hear yourself the way others will.
- 4If the meter stays flat, work through the checks shown, or pick another microphone from the list.
Reading the meter
dBFS means decibels relative to full scale. 0 dBFS is the loudest value digital audio can hold, so every real reading is negative: −6 dBFS is half of full scale, −20 dBFS a tenth, −60 dBFS a thousandth. The solid bar is the RMS level — the average energy, close to how loud something sounds. The lighter bar is the peak, the largest single sample, and the thin mark holds the recent peak for a moment so you can read it.
For speech, a common target is peaks between about −12 and −6 dBFS, with the RMS bar somewhere around −30 to −18. Peaks at 0 mean clipping: the waveform is flattened against the ceiling, and it sounds harsh however it is processed afterwards — lower the input volume or move back. A meter that barely leaves the left edge means the voice will be buried in noise once someone turns it up.
One convention to know: this meter reports plain RMS, on which a full-scale sine wave reads −3 dBFS. Some audio software adds 3 dB so the same sine reads 0, which explains a steady 3 dB disagreement between meters. Podcast and broadcast loudness targets such as −16 or −23 LUFS use a different, frequency-weighted measurement that this tool does not make.
Echo cancellation, noise suppression and gain control
Browsers assume a microphone is for calls, so they switch on three kinds of processing unless a page asks otherwise. Echo cancellation removes your own speakers' sound from the microphone, so the other person does not hear themselves. Noise suppression filters steady background sound — fans, hum, traffic, typing. Automatic gain control raises quiet speech and pulls loud speech down.
All three are right for calls and wrong for music, where they mangle sustained notes and make the volume pump. Switch them off to hear what the microphone really picks up. After each change the test reopens the microphone and shows what the browser actually applied, which is not always what was asked: some browsers ignore some of these requests, and on some systems the processing happens in the operating system or the device, out of the browser's reach.
When nothing comes through
The test tells two kinds of silence apart. Exact digital silence — every sample zero — means something mutes the signal before it reaches the browser: a mute switch on a headset or its cable, a muted input in the system's sound settings, or an operating-system privacy block. A tiny but non-zero signal means the microphone is open and hearing almost nothing: the wrong input is selected, it is too far away, or its volume is turned right down.
Windows 11: Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone needs Microphone access, Let apps access your microphone and Let desktop apps access your microphone all switched on. Settings → System → Sound → Input then chooses the device and its volume. In the classic Sound control panel, an application allowed to take exclusive control of the device can lock everything else out.
macOS: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone must have your browser switched on — change it, then quit and reopen the browser. System Settings → Sound → Input has the device choice and a level meter of its own, which is a useful second opinion.
In the browser: Chrome and Edge allow the microphone from the icon at the left of the address bar, and choose the default device at chrome://settings/content/microphone. Firefox clears a block from the microphone icon in the address bar, after which you reload. Safari keeps it under Safari → Settings for This Website → Microphone. If Chrome reports "NotReadableError: Could not start audio source", another program has the device locked; close call and recording software and try again.
Why Bluetooth headsets sound worse with the mic on
A Bluetooth headset switches to its hands-free profile when the microphone is in use, and that profile carries telephone-quality audio in both directions — sampled at 8 or 16 kHz rather than 44.1 or 48. Music playing while the microphone is open suddenly sounds thin and muffled, and your voice is reduced to phone quality. That is the Bluetooth standard working as designed, not a faulty headset.
A wired or USB microphone avoids it entirely. So does using the computer's built-in microphone while keeping the Bluetooth headphones for listening, which leaves them in their high-quality playback profile. Newer headsets that support LE Audio handle two-way audio better.
What happens to your audio
The sound goes from the microphone into this tab and stops there. The meter and the waveform are computed in the page; nothing is recorded unless you press Record, and the five-second sample stays in the tab's memory until you leave. Stop releases the device, which is what switches off the browser's recording indicator.
Microphone names appear only after you allow access — browsers withhold them from sites without permission, because a list of your hardware helps identify you.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
What is a good microphone level?
For speech, peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS, with the RMS bar between roughly −30 and −18. Peaks that reach 0 dBFS clip and distort; a level that barely moves the meter will sound thin and noisy once it is amplified.
Is my voice recorded or uploaded?
No. The meter is computed in your browser. Nothing is recorded unless you press Record, and that sample stays in the tab — it is never uploaded, and it is gone when you leave the page.
Why does the test say it is receiving silence?
Exact zeros mean something mutes the signal before the browser gets it — a mute switch, a muted system input or a privacy block. A tiny non-zero signal means the microphone is open but hears nothing: wrong input, too far away, or the volume turned down.
Why does my volume rise and fall on its own?
That is automatic gain control adjusting to you. Switch it off in the test to hear your true level. Zoom, Teams and other call apps have their own setting for it as well.
Why can't I find my microphone in the list?
Names appear only after you allow access. If it is still missing, the system has not recognised it — check its sound input list. On Windows, the Default and Communications entries are aliases for real devices.
Why didn't the browser turn off the processing I switched off?
Some browsers do not let pages switch every kind of processing off, and some systems apply it in the operating system or the device itself. The Applied column shows what you actually got.
Does it work with USB and Bluetooth microphones?
Yes — any input the system exposes appears in the list once access is allowed. Bluetooth headsets drop to telephone-quality audio while their microphone is in use; that is the hands-free profile, not a fault.