Online Mic Test
Speak and watch the meter move. Know your mic works before the meeting starts.
This mic test shows you, in seconds, whether your microphone is actually picking up sound. Grant the browser access, speak normally, and a live volume meter reacts to your voice. If the bars move when you talk, your mic works; if they stay flat, you have found the problem before your meeting did.
The classic moment for this is two minutes before a Zoom interview or a Teams call: you would rather discover the muted mic, the wrong input device or the headset that did not connect now, while there is still time to fix it. The test also helps you choose between devices when several are plugged in, and to compare levels, since a meter that barely moves means you will sound faint to everyone else.
Privacy is the point of doing this in the browser: the audio is analyzed locally on your device to drive the meter and is never recorded, stored or sent anywhere. When you leave the page, the microphone is released. Your browser will still ask permission first, exactly as it should.
How to test your microphone
- Click Start Mic Test.
- When your browser asks for microphone permission, click Allow. Nothing is recorded; access is only used to drive the live meter.
- If you have several microphones, pick the one to test from the device dropdown.
- Speak at your normal call volume and watch the meter respond.
- Flat meter? Check the physical mute switch, the system input device and input level, then reload and retry.
- Close the page when done; microphone access ends with it.
When the meter stays flat
Work through the chain. First the obvious: many headsets have a hardware mute switch or mute-on-flip boom. Second, the browser may be pointed at the wrong device; laptops often expose two or three inputs, so try each in the dropdown. Third, check your operating system's sound settings: the input device and its level, plus the per-app microphone privacy toggle on Windows and macOS, which silently blocks browsers when off.
If you denied the permission prompt earlier, the browser remembers. Click the padlock or settings icon in the address bar, reset the microphone permission for this site and reload. And if the mic works here but not in Zoom or Teams, the mic is fine; fix the device selection inside that app's audio settings.
Nothing is recorded: how the private mic test works
This is the question everyone rightly asks, so here is the plain answer: nothing you say is recorded, saved or uploaded. When you allow access, your browser hands the audio to the page, and the only thing done with it is measuring its loudness to move the meter. There is no server on the other end, no file being written, and no copy kept anywhere.
The audio is analysed live on your own device and then discarded, moment to moment. The instant you close the tab or leave the page, the browser releases the microphone, which is why its in-use indicator switches off. Nothing you say during the test outlives the split second it takes to bounce the meter.
What the volume meter is telling you
The meter is a live loudness reading of your microphone input. When you speak, the bars should rise and fall with your voice; when you pause, they should drop back toward the bottom. That movement is the proof you are after, because it means your voice is reaching the browser rather than being blocked somewhere in the chain.
Aim for a meter that comfortably reaches the upper portion of its range when you talk at normal call volume, without pinning at the very top constantly. Bars that barely twitch mean you will sound faint to others, while a meter jammed at maximum can mean distortion. A little headroom, peaking high but not maxed, is the sweet spot for clear calls.
Why the browser asks permission, and how to manage it
The permission prompt is a safety feature doing its job. Browsers never let a page reach your microphone without your explicit consent, so seeing the request is exactly right, and this test needs it purely to show your live level. You can grant it just for this visit and revoke it whenever you like.
To change your mind later, click the padlock or site-settings icon in the address bar, where you can reset or block the microphone permission for the site and reload. Above the browser sits your operating system's own microphone privacy control on Windows and macOS; if that switch blocks apps from the mic, no website will get sound regardless of what you allow in the browser, so check it too.
Getting your levels right for calls
If the meter moves but people still say you sound quiet, raise the input level, sometimes labelled gain, in your system sound settings, and bring the microphone closer, roughly a hand's width from your mouth for a headset boom. Small positioning changes often matter more than any software setting, because doubling the distance sharply drops how loud you register.
For clearer calls, also mind the room. A hard, echoey space makes you harder to understand, so soft furnishings help, and pointing a directional mic slightly off-axis from your mouth reduces popping on hard consonants. A dedicated or headset microphone almost always beats a laptop's built-in mic, which sits far from your mouth and picks up fan and keyboard noise.
Real moments this saves you
The obvious one is the two minutes before a call: a quick check here confirms your mic works before a job interview on Zoom, a client meeting on Teams or a class online, so you are not the person saying you cannot hear me while everyone waits. It is far better to find a muted headset or the wrong input now than live in front of an audience.
It is also handy whenever you have several inputs and need to pick the good one, before recording a podcast or voice note, when setting up a new headset, or after Windows quietly switched your default device following an update. A ten-second level check settles which microphone is actually live and how loud you will sound.
Related tools on ConvertForever
Getting ready for a video call means checking more than sound. The webcam test shows your camera's live picture the same way this shows your mic level, live and entirely on your device, so you can confirm framing and lighting before you join.
If your headset also has keys or you are testing a full desk setup, the keyboard tester checks that every key registers. Like this mic test, both run in your browser, are free and unlimited, and record nothing, so you can run through your whole pre-call checklist in a minute without installing anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is my voice recorded during the test?
No. The audio stream is analyzed in your browser only to animate the volume meter. Nothing is recorded, stored or transmitted, and access ends when you leave the page.
Is the mic test free?
Yes, free and unlimited, with no account. Test before every call if you like.
Why does the browser ask for permission?
Browsers require your explicit consent before any page can access a microphone; that is a safety feature working correctly. This test needs the permission solely to show your live level, and you can revoke it any time from the address-bar padlock.
The meter does not move at all. What do I check?
In order: the headset's mute switch, the device dropdown (wrong mic selected), your system input settings and level, and the OS microphone privacy toggle. If you blocked the permission earlier, reset it from the padlock icon and reload.
The meter moves, but people say I am quiet. How do I fix that?
Raise the input level (gain) in your system sound settings and move the mic closer, roughly a hand's width from your mouth for headsets. Aim for a meter that reaches the upper range when you speak normally without constantly maxing out.
My mic works here but not in Zoom or Teams. Why?
The hardware and permissions are fine; the app is using a different input. Open that app's audio settings and select the same microphone that worked here, and check you are not muted in the meeting itself.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. Mobile browsers show the same permission prompt and the meter works the same way, so you can check a phone headset before joining a call on the go.