Microphone Test
Check your microphone level and hear exactly what a call sounds like at the other end.
Input level
not listening
How this test works
The page opens your microphone with the same processing a conferencing app gets, meters the level live, and records five seconds for playback. The meter answers whether anything is arriving and whether it is close to clipping; the playback answers the question a meter cannot, which is what you actually sound like. Peak is used rather than average, because a microphone that clips on the loud words has a perfectly respectable average and a ruined recording. Because automatic gain is on, the result says whether the browser was adjusting the level — a quiet reading with gain applied means the microphone is genuinely quiet rather than merely turned down.
What the results mean
- Peak level
- The loudest moment of the run in dBFS, where 0 is full scale. Comfortable speech peaks between about -18 and -6.
- Clipping
- Peaks at or above -1 dBFS. The waveform is being squared off at the ceiling, and it is destructive — no processing afterwards restores what was cut. Lower the input gain.
- Automatic gain
- The browser adjusting your level on the fly. On means the number reflects the microphone plus the boost, which is what a call app hears and therefore the number that matters for calls.
- Playback
- The recording as the other end would receive it — the same processed stream, not the raw microphone.
Common problems and fixes
- The meter never moves
- Check the input device in your OS sound settings, then look for a hardware mute — an inline button on a headset cable, a switch on the microphone body, or a mute key on the keyboard.
- People say I sound distant and echoey
- That is room reflection, not the microphone. Move closer to it, and put something soft behind you. A headset microphone solves it outright.
- My voice distorts on loud words
- The signal is clipping. Drop the input level in your OS sound settings and turn off any microphone boost, then re-run and aim for peaks around -12 dBFS.
- The browser picks the wrong microphone
- Change the default input in your OS settings and reload the page, or use the site permission settings for this page to choose a different device.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test my microphone online?
Allow the microphone above, speak at your normal call volume, then record five seconds and play it back. The meter tells you whether the level is usable; the playback tells you how you sound, which is the part people are usually asking about. Everything happens in this tab — the audio never leaves your computer.
Is my recording uploaded anywhere?
No. The recording is made by the browser, held in this tab and played back from there. Nothing is sent to a server, and closing the tab discards it.
What is a good microphone level?
Peaks between roughly -18 and -6 dBFS. That leaves headroom for a raised voice without touching the ceiling. Above -6 you are close to clipping; below -30 you will be asked to repeat yourself on calls.
Why does my microphone sound different here than in my meeting app?
It should sound close, because this uses the same processed stream that conferencing apps request. Differences that remain come from the app's own noise suppression and levelling, which are applied after the browser hands the audio over.