Free tool
Mic Test
Press the button and speak for five seconds. You get a live level meter, a plain verdict — works, too quiet, clipping or no sound — and a recording to play back. Nothing leaves your browser.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing recorded to a server
- No signup
Your browser will ask for the microphone. The sound stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.
Press the button and speak — the level shows here.
- Level (RMS)
- —
- Peak
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- Loudest moment
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Microphone works — now dictate and watch the words appear.Voice to text →
Record and play back
Hear yourself the way others hear you. The recording stays in this tab and is gone when you close it.
Have a longer recording? Turn it into text.Audio to text →
Background noise
Stay silent for 2 seconds: the test measures the hiss and hum the microphone picks up when nobody speaks.
Getting ready for a call or a meeting? Get the notes and a summary afterwards.Meeting notes →
Echo and voice processing
Before a site gets your microphone, the browser can clean it up. This is what it applied here:
- Echo cancellation
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- Noise suppression
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- Automatic gain control
- —
- Sample rate
- —
- Channels
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To hear echo the way others would: turn processing off, play something through your speakers, record 5 seconds and listen. Headphones stop echo at the source.
How it works
Mic Test in three steps
Press the button, allow access
The browser asks once. Pick another microphone from the list at any time.
Speak for 5 seconds
Watch the level move and get a verdict: works, too quiet, clipping or no sound.
Record and listen
Record 5 or 10 seconds, check background noise, and test with voice processing off.
What the test result means
The test gives one of five verdicts after listening for 5 seconds, or names the error the browser returned when it could not open the microphone. Each verdict maps to one cause and one fix, listed below; the error names are the ones defined for getUserMedia() in MDN Web Docs and the W3C Media Capture and Streams specification.
| The test shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your microphone works | Loudest 0.3 s above −50 dBFS, no clipping | Nothing — the level suits calls and dictation |
| Very quiet | Loudest 0.3 s below −50 dBFS | Move closer, raise the input volume, pick another microphone |
| Works, but close to clipping | Peaks at or above −1 dBFS in 3 or more frames | Lower the input volume a little |
| Too loud — clipping | Samples at full scale (0 dBFS) in 3 or more frames | Lower the input volume or move back |
| No sound is coming in | Peak never above −75 dBFS: the device sends silence | Check the mute switch or key, system input volume, selected device |
| NotAllowedError | Blocked for this site, by the system, or the prompt was closed | Allow the microphone in the site settings or the system privacy settings |
| NotFoundError | No microphone on this device | Connect a headset or microphone |
| NotReadableError | Busy in another app, or the system could not start it | Close other apps and tabs, reconnect the device |
| OverconstrainedError | The chosen device is gone or cannot do what was asked | The test falls back to the default microphone |
| SecurityError | Page not on https, or inside a site that did not allow the microphone | Open the https page or the full test |
How the meter decides: quiet, healthy, clipping
The level is measured in dBFS, decibels relative to the loudest value a digital signal can hold (0 dBFS). About 60 times a second the test reads the latest 2,048 samples (43 ms at 48 kHz) and computes their RMS level and peak. The bar shows −60 to 0 dBFS.
- −50 dBFS is the quiet line. At that level the signal uses 0.3% of full scale — in a 16-bit recording, about 7 of its 16 bits. Speech that never rises above it has to be amplified a lot, and the background hiss rises with it.
- −1 dBFS is the clipping warning. EBU R 128, the European broadcast loudness standard, sets −1 dBTP as the maximum true peak; louder peaks risk distortion after encoding.
- 0 dBFS is clipping. A sample at full scale (we count |x| ≥ 0.999) has been cut off.
- Background noise is the median level over 2 silent seconds: below −60 dBFS reads as quiet, −60 to −45 as noticeable, above −45 as loud.
Echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain: what the browser switches on
Browsers can process the microphone before a site gets it, and getSettings() (MDN: MediaTrackSettings) reports what was applied. We measured the defaults on 2 October 2026 with test devices; real Safari and Firefox on real hardware were not measured, and Firefox's test device skips processing, so it is left out.
| Browser engine | Echo cancellation | Noise suppression | Automatic gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chromium 153 (headless, fake device) | On | On | On |
| WebKit, Safari 26.6 engine (mock device) | On | Not reported | Not reported |
Automatic gain is why a mic "lowers itself": in the same Chromium test, a signal whose loudest moment read −67 dBFS with processing off read −54 dBFS with it on, about 12 dB louder, while a −18 dBFS signal was lifted only 7 dB. Use "Turn processing off" to hear the raw microphone.
Limits
The test hears what the browser delivers, after any processing by the system or a headset. It cannot read or change your system input volume. Bluetooth headsets usually switch to a narrower call mode while the microphone is open. The recording stays in the page's memory and disappears when you close the tab.
Answers
Mic test — frequently asked questions
How do I test my microphone online?
Press Test my microphone, allow access when the browser asks, and speak normally for 5 seconds. The bar moves with your voice, and after 5 seconds the test tells you whether the microphone works, is too quiet, is clipping or sends no sound. Record 5 or 10 seconds to hear yourself.
Is my voice uploaded anywhere?
No. The level, the verdict and the recording are all computed in your browser. The recording is kept in the page's memory and is gone when you close the tab. Nothing is sent to SozAI or anyone else.
Why is my mic so quiet?
The usual causes are distance, a low input volume in the system settings, or the wrong device — for example the laptop's built-in microphone instead of a headset. The test calls the level very quiet when your loudest 0.3 seconds stay below −50 dBFS. Move closer, raise the input volume, or pick another microphone in the list.
Why does my mic volume change by itself?
That is automatic gain control. Chromium turns it on for every page by default: in our measurement it lifted a quiet signal by about 12 dB and a loud one by 7 dB. Call apps rely on it. Tick Turn processing off and test again to hear the microphone without it.
Why do people hear an echo of themselves?
Their voice comes out of your speakers and goes back into your microphone. Echo cancellation removes most of it, but speakers at high volume or a microphone close to them still leak. Headphones stop the echo at the source.
The browser says the microphone is blocked. What now?
The test shows which block it is. If the site is blocked, allow the microphone in the browser's site settings (the icon left of the web address in Chrome and Edge, aA in Safari on iPhone). If the system blocks the browser, turn it on under Privacy settings on Mac or Windows, or in the iPhone Settings app. Then reload the page.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, in Safari and Chrome on iPhone and in Chrome, Samsung Internet and Firefox on Android. Browsers built into other apps, such as Instagram or Telegram, often cannot use the microphone — open the page in the real browser instead.
What does dBFS mean?
Decibels relative to full scale: 0 dBFS is the loudest value a digital signal can hold, and everything else is negative. It describes the signal, not the loudness in the room — for that, use a calibrated sound level meter or our decibel meter with a calibration.
Mic works? Put it to use
Record a call, a lecture or a voice note in the SozAI app and get the text with speaker labels and a summary.
Free on iOS and Android. 30 minutes of transcription included, no card.
