Mic test

How to read your mic test

Press Start, allow the microphone, and talk the way you would on a call. The bar shows the level in dBFS, decibels relative to full scale. 0 dBFS is the loudest value the mic's converter can produce, so every reading is negative. It measures the digital signal, not how loud the room is.

• Level (RMS) is the average over the last 50 ms. Normal speech should sit between about -30 and -12 dBFS.
• Peak is the highest single sample, held for two seconds. Keep it below -3 dBFS.
• Clipping counts moments where the signal hit full scale for several samples in a row. Any clipping means distortion, so lower the gain.
• Speech level is the median level while you talk, so short pauses do not drag it down.
• Noise floor is the level in silence, measured in the 3 second quiet step. Under -60 dBFS is quiet, above -45 dBFS is noisy.
• SNR is speech level minus noise floor. 30 dB or more sounds clean.

The spectrum shows which frequencies the mic picks up right now. A clean mic shows energy well past 10 kHz when you say "s". If everything stops at about 4 or 8 kHz, the input is limited to call quality, which usually means a Bluetooth headset in hands-free mode. During the quiet step the page also looks for sharp peaks at 50 or 60 Hz and their multiples, the sign of electrical hum.

Browser processing is off by default so you see the raw signal. Call apps use echo cancellation, noise suppression and auto gain, so record one take with the boxes off and one with them on to hear the difference. Some processing sits below the browser and cannot be switched off from a web page: Windows audio enhancements, Realtek or manufacturer effects, NVIDIA Broadcast, Krisp, and Voice Isolation on a Mac.

Mic not working? Fix it step by step

Windows 11 privacy settings

Open Settings, Privacy and security, Microphone. Turn on "Microphone access", "Let apps access your microphone" and "Let desktop apps access your microphone". Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Discord and Zoom count as desktop apps, so the last switch matters most. If the meter shows pure silence, this is the first thing to check.

Pick the right default device

In Settings, System, Sound, choose your mic under Input and speak: the bar there should move. Raise "Input volume" if the level here is low. In the old Control Panel sound window (Recording tab), right click the mic, open Properties, and check the Levels tab for a boost setting and the Advanced tab for "Allow applications to take exclusive control", which can lock other apps out.

Discord, Zoom and Teams

Each app has its own input setting. In Discord it is User Settings, Voice and Video, Input Device. In Zoom, Settings, Audio, Microphone. In Teams, Settings, Devices, Microphone. Choose the same device that worked here rather than "Default", check the app's own input volume, and turn off push to talk if you do not use it. Only one app can use some USB mics at a time, so close the others.

Headset mic on PS5 and Xbox

On PS5, go to Settings, Sound, Microphone, pick the input device and adjust the level, and check the mute button on the DualSense (its light should be off). On Xbox, open Settings, General, Volume and audio output, and check chat mixer and mic monitoring. A headset plugged into the controller needs a 4-pole (TRRS) plug; a PC headset with separate mic and headphone plugs needs a splitter.

Mac System Settings

Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone, and turn on your browser. Then go to Sound, Input, choose the mic and raise the input volume until the bar moves while you talk. Restart the browser after changing the privacy switch.

Browser site permission

If the browser blocked the mic, click the icon left of the address and set Microphone to Allow, then reload. In Chrome you can also open Settings, Privacy and security, Site settings, Microphone, and pick the right default mic there. On iPhone and Android, allow the microphone for the browser app itself in the phone's settings. Once your mic is sorted, check your speakers or headphones with the sound test.