What Is an Online Microphone Test?
An online microphone test checks whether your browser receives audio from your microphone. Our mic tester shows a live level meter and peak value, with an optional sample recording of up to 30 seconds so you can hear your own voice.
This is useful before meetings, classes, interviews, streams, or support calls. If the meter moves when you speak, your microphone is working at the browser level. The live meter doubles as a loudness check: watch the peak level while speaking at normal call volume. For a full setup check, also test your headphones or speakers.
What This Microphone Tester Can Verify
- Whether the browser can access your microphone
- Whether live input levels respond when you speak
- The highest relative input level reached during the test
- Whether the mic appears completely silent in the browser
- How a short sample sounds when you choose to record and play it
The percentage meter is a relative signal indicator, not calibrated decibels or an automatic quality score. Listening to a sample can help you notice background noise or distortion. Your call app may process audio differently, so check its own microphone settings too.
How to Test Your Microphone Online
- Click Start mic. This starts the level check only, not a recording.
- Allow microphone permission in the browser prompt.
- Speak at your normal volume and watch the meter move.
- Check the peak value to see how loud your voice reached.
- Optionally click Record sample, speak, then click Stop recording. Recording and microphone access stop automatically after 30 seconds or when you switch tabs.
- After the microphone stops, press Play in the audio player to hear yourself. Playback never starts automatically.
- Delete the sample when finished. To record again, start the mic and choose Record sample; a new recording replaces the previous one.
Audio stays temporarily in this tab and is never uploaded or saved to persistent browser storage. Deleting the sample, replacing it with a new recording, or leaving the page clears it. If recording is unsupported, you can still use the live meter.
Why the Meter May Not Move
- Microphone permission was denied in the browser
- The mic is muted physically or in the system settings
- Another app is already controlling the microphone
- The wrong device is active at the operating system level
- The microphone or cable is not connected properly
If your webcam and mic are both involved in a call setup, check the webcam tester too. And if the meter moves while you are silent because a game or video is playing, Windows may be routing system sound into your input device — see the fix for a mic picking up desktop audio on Windows 11.
