Microphone Test

How to use

1. Allow microphone access. Click Allow microphone access and accept the browser prompt. The audio is processed locally and never leaves your device.
2. Watch the level and waveform. Speak at your normal volume. The Input level bar should move and the waveform should react. If both stay flat, the mic isn't picking you up.
3. Record and play it back. Hit Record a sample, talk for a few seconds, then stop and play it back. That's the voice your call partner actually gets.

Why test this

A mic that sounds fine to you can be muffled, or dead silent, on the other end of the call. You usually find out mid-meeting. A quick test first saves the 'you're on mute' scramble and the 'sorry, you're breaking up' one too. Run it before a job interview, a stream, a podcast take, or any call on a new headset or a machine that isn't yours. It also separates a hardware fault from a software one in seconds. If the level bar moves here in the browser, your mic and drivers work, so the problem is the app or its settings. If it stays flat after you pick the right device and unmute, the fault is the mic itself or the OS permission. And because everything runs locally, you can check a work laptop without a single byte being recorded or uploaded.

What the results mean

Two signs tell you the mic is alive. The Input level bar should jump when you speak and fall back near zero in silence, and the waveform should move in time with your voice. If the bar pins near the top and turns red, your input gain is too high and the sound will clip and distort, so lower it in your OS sound settings. A bar that barely twitches means low gain or the wrong device. The recording is the real proof: play it back and listen for clarity and background hum. A thin, distant sound usually means the mic is too far away or needs more gain. The sample rate and channel readouts confirm the device picked a sane format, usually mono at 44.1 or 48 kHz. If all of that looks right but one app still can't hear you, the fault is that app's mic permission or device choice, not your hardware. The spectrum and spectrogram show what your mic actually picks up, not just how loud it is. In the spectrum, low notes sit on the left and highs on the right. Your voice lights up the middle, and the Peak readout names the loudest frequency in the room right now. The spectrogram scrolls that same picture over time. Brighter means louder. Watch it for a few seconds and your speech paints moving bands that rise and fall as you talk. A flat, bright line that never moves is a different animal. That's steady hum, usually 50 or 60 Hz depending on your region, or buzz from a ground loop or a nearby power supply. It sits there even when you stop talking, which is exactly how you tell it apart from your voice. Chase it down before you record anything you plan to keep.

FAQ

Is my audio recorded or uploaded anywhere?

No. The audio is captured and analyzed entirely in your browser, and any sample you record stays in this tab until you close it. Nothing is sent to a server.

The bar doesn't move when I speak. What's wrong?

Work through three things. Confirm you allowed access in the browser prompt, that the right mic is picked in the Input device list, and that nothing has it muted in your OS or on the hardware. Another app holding the mic can block it too.

Can I pick which microphone to test?

Yes. Once access is granted and you have more than one input, an Input device dropdown appears, so you can switch between a built-in mic, a headset, or an external interface.

What sample rate and channels should I see?

Most built-in mics report 44.1 or 48 kHz and a single mono channel. Headsets and interfaces vary. The readout shows whatever your device and browser actually negotiate, not a fixed number.

My mic works here but not in Discord or Zoom. Why?

The hardware is fine, so the problem is inside that app. Open its audio settings and check the input device, the input volume, and any push-to-talk key. App-level mute and the wrong selected device are the usual causes.

What do the frequency spectrum and spectrogram actually tell me?

They show pitch, not just volume. A quiet high note and a loud low rumble can hit the same level meter reading but look completely different here. The spectrum is a snapshot: low frequencies left, highs right. The spectrogram is that same snapshot scrolled sideways as a strip, so you can watch pitch change over the last several seconds instead of just this instant. Talking makes moving bands that shift with your voice. A flat line that sits at the same height and never moves, especially a low one, is mains hum or a ground loop. A level meter can't tell you that. The spectrogram can.