Microphone Test

Use this free microphone test to check your mic is working properly before it matters — a job interview, an important Teams call, an online exam or your first recording. Press the button above, allow access when your browser asks, and speak. If the meter moves with your voice, your microphone is picking you up. Then record a full 10 seconds and play it back: that is the part most people skip, and it is the part that tells you how you actually sound to everyone else. This tool is part of Speed Test UK, where you can test your whole call setup, from your microphone to your broadband, in a couple of minutes.

There is nothing to install and no account to create. The test runs in your browser using the same technology that Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet use in their web versions, so a microphone that works here uses the same path as a microphone in your meeting apps. If it works here but not in a meeting, the problem is a setting inside that app — and this guide explains how to find it.

How to Use This Microphone Test

The whole check takes under a minute. For the most useful result, test with the exact microphone, headphones and seat you will use for the real call.

• Step 1: Click “Start microphone test” and choose Allow in the permission prompt. The test never starts on its own — your browser only opens the microphone after you click.
• Step 2: Speak at your normal volume, from your normal distance. Watch the live meter and waveform. Normal conversation should push the level well into the middle of the meter on your louder words.
• Step 3: Read the verdict line. The tool tells you plainly whether the sound coming through is too quiet, healthy, or so loud it may distort.
• Step 4: Press “Record 10 seconds” and read a couple of sentences — your name, what the meeting is about, anything. Then press play and listen carefully: clarity, echo, fan noise, keyboard clatter, crackle.
• Step 5: If you have more than one microphone (laptop, headset, USB mic, earbuds), pick each one from the list and repeat the recording. The difference between a laptop mic and a headset mic is usually bigger than people expect.
• Step 6: Press Stop when you finish. The microphone is released immediately and the browser’s recording indicator goes out.

A finger tap on the microphone grille is a handy sanity check: it should produce one sharp spike on the waveform. If it does, the hardware and the connection are alive, and any remaining problem is a level or settings issue rather than a dead microphone.

What Your Results Mean

A moving meter proves sound is arriving, but the details tell you whether it is arriving well. Use this guide to interpret what you see and hear.

As a rough target, conversational speech should regularly reach the middle of the meter and push higher when you emphasise a word, without living at the very top. If your peaks constantly hit maximum, colleagues will hear distortion that no meeting app can repair afterwards.

Why Playback Matters More Than the Meter

A meter can only show loudness. It cannot show that your room echoes like a bathroom, that a desk fan sounds like a jet to everyone else, or that your headset mic rubs against your collar on every sentence. Ten seconds of playback shows all of it, which is why this test records a full 10 seconds rather than a token few.

Listen once for clarity: can you understand every word easily? Listen again for problems: hum, hiss, popping on “p” and “b” sounds, or a robotic quality that suggests the wrong device is in use. If the recording sounds good here, it will sound good in Zoom, Teams and Meet, because those apps receive the same signal from your system.

Microphone Not Working? Work Through These Fixes

Start at the top. Most microphone problems are one of the first four.

Permission was blocked

If you clicked Block by accident, the browser will refuse the microphone silently on every later visit. Click the lock or microphone icon at the left of the address bar, set the microphone to Allow for this site, and reload the page. In Chrome you can also open site settings and change Microphone from Block to Allow; Mozilla’s Firefox permissions guide walks through the same steps for Firefox. Google’s own Chrome help page on camera and microphone access covers Chrome and Chromebooks.

Windows is blocking the microphone

On Windows 10 and 11, open Settings, then Privacy and security, then Microphone, and make sure Microphone access is on and your browser is allowed. Then open Settings, System, Sound, and under Input choose the correct microphone and watch its test bar move as you speak. Microsoft’s fix microphone problems guide covers these steps in full, including drivers. If the level is low, open the device properties and raise the level; a small amount of boost can help a quiet microphone, but too much adds hiss and distortion.

Mac is blocking the microphone

On a Mac, open System Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Microphone, and switch your browser on in the list. Then open Sound settings, choose the Input tab, select the right microphone and check the input level meter while you talk. If you have only just granted permission, quit and reopen the browser so the change takes effect, then run this test again.

Wrong microphone, mute switch or another app

Laptops happily default to their built-in microphone even when a better headset is plugged in — use the device list in the tool above to be sure. Check the physical mute switch many headsets have on the cable or earcup, and the mute button on USB microphones themselves. Then close other apps that use audio (Zoom, Teams, Discord, OBS, games): on some systems one app holding the microphone stops others from hearing it properly.

Microphone too quiet even at full volume

Distance is the usual cause — a microphone twice as far away sounds far weaker, not slightly weaker. Bring it closer: a headset boom near your mouth beats a laptop microphone across the desk every time. On Windows, check the Levels tab for the device and any boost setting. On any system, speak across the microphone rather than directly into it at very close range, which also reduces popping sounds. If one microphone is quiet everywhere while others are fine, the microphone itself may be failing — test it on another device to confirm.

Bluetooth headsets and AirPods

Bluetooth headsets have two personalities: a high-quality stereo mode with the microphone off, and a hands-free mode with the microphone on but poorer sound. If your Bluetooth mic is missing or sounds dreadful, look for the “Hands-Free” or “Headset” version of the device in your sound settings and in the list above. This is normal Bluetooth behaviour, not a fault.

Works Here but Not in Zoom, Teams or Meet?

This is the most common outcome of all, and it is good news: your hardware works. Meeting apps each keep their own microphone choice, and they do not always follow the system default. In Zoom, open Settings, then Audio, and select the same microphone you tested here. In Microsoft Teams, open Settings, then Devices, and do the same. In Google Meet, click the three dots during or before a call, open Settings, then Audio. Then use each app’s own test or a colleague’s patience for a final check.

If your voice sounds fine on playback here but keeps breaking up in real meetings, suspect the connection rather than the microphone. A weak or unstable line chops audio exactly like a faulty mic. Run a broadband speed test to check your upload speed (calls need a steady upload, not just a fast download), then check your latency with our ping tester and stability with the jitter test. High jitter is the classic hidden cause of robotic, cutting-out voices on calls that test fine locally.

Your Privacy on This Page

This deserves plain language. The microphone only opens when you press Start, because that is how browsers are built — this page cannot listen before you click, and neither can any other website. Your voice is analysed and, if you record, stored only in this tab’s memory on your own device. Nothing is uploaded to Speed Test UK or anywhere else; there is no server for it to go to. The recording disappears when you leave or refresh the page, unless you choose to download it yourself. Pressing Stop releases the microphone immediately, and closing the tab ends everything. If you ever see a browser’s microphone indicator lit on a page where you did not start a test, close that tab and check your site permissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my voice recorded or uploaded by this test?

No. The live meter is analysed on your device, and if you use the record feature, the clip stays in this browser tab’s memory only. Nothing is sent to a server. When you leave or refresh the page, the recording is gone unless you downloaded it yourself.

Why does the browser ask for permission every time?

Browsers treat microphones as private, so each site needs your explicit permission. Chrome and Edge can remember your choice for a site if you allow it in site settings; Safari tends to ask more often by design. You can change your choice at any time from the icon in the address bar.

How do I test my microphone before a Zoom or Teams call?

Run this test with the same microphone and headphones you will use, record 10 seconds, and listen back. If it sounds clear here, open the meeting app’s audio settings and make sure the same microphone is selected there too — mismatched device selection is the most common reason a tested mic “fails” in a meeting.

My microphone sounds very quiet. How do I make it louder?

Get closer first — distance is the biggest factor. Then raise the input level: on Windows, Sound settings, Input, device properties, Levels; on a Mac, Sound, Input, and the input volume slider. In the tool above, pick the actual headset or USB mic rather than the laptop’s built-in one. If it is still whisper-quiet on every device, the microphone may be faulty.

Why can I hear an echo when I play the recording back?

Your speakers were on while you recorded, so the microphone picked them up. Use headphones for the playback (and ideally for the recording), or turn the speaker volume down. On real calls, echo is the other person’s problem to hear — headphones solve it for everyone.

Does this microphone test work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. It works in mobile browsers such as Safari on iPhone and Chrome on Android — tap Allow when asked. If you dismissed the prompt, allow microphone access for your browser in the phone’s app permission settings and reload the page. It is a quick way to check earbuds and phone microphones before a call.

Test Your Whole Call Setup, Not Just the Mic

A clear microphone is half of a good call — the other half is the connection carrying your voice. Before your next important meeting, run this microphone test, listen to your 10-second playback, and then check your internet speed on the Speed Test UK homepage to make sure your upload and latency are up to the job as well. Two minutes of testing now beats ten minutes of “can you hear me?” later.