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Tools / Microphone test

Microphone test

Your level on OBS’s own meter, the room between your words, both channels, and a recording to play back.

Free, no account, nothing uploaded. Works on a phone too. Updated October 17, 2026.

Input off

Microphone off. Start it, choose Allow if your browser asks, then say a normal sentence.

Plays your microphone back to you, a moment late. Headphones only.

Microphone signalInput off
—dBFS · peak

Room and voice lines appear after you speak and pause.

Last 30 seconds · average level in bluePeak in pale blue · Now
Speech should peak here

Green below -20 dBFS, yellow from -20, red from -9: OBS’s default meter. Speech should sit in the upper yellow and reach the start of the red.

Say a normal sentence, then your loudest: a laugh or a shout. Leave pauses so the test can measure the room. The room and speech readings follow your recent sound.

More test controls

Start the microphone to see the choices your browser allows.

Off shows the signal your system delivers, which is what OBS starts from. On shows what a browser call app would send, with automatic gain, noise suppression and echo cancellation.

Record and play back

Listen back on headphones: a recording is how your viewers hear you.

Nothing is uploaded. The microphone turns off when you stop it or leave this tab. Test your webcam and microphone together.

No sound, or the wrong microphone? Pick your computer or app

The steps for the system you are on open first. Each app section says where the microphone is chosen and what that app does to your voice, because call apps process it and OBS does not.

On Windows 11 or 10

  1. Check the mute switch or button on your microphone or headset.
  2. Windows 11: open Start, Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone. Windows 10: Start, Settings, Privacy, Microphone. Turn on Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone. Web browsers and OBS are desktop apps.
  3. Open Settings, System, Sound. Under Input, choose the microphone you speak into.
  4. Select that microphone to open its properties, press Start test and speak (Windows 10: Test your microphone on the same page). If Windows hears nothing either, the problem is the connection or the device, not the browser. Adjust Input volume there if you are too quiet.

On a Mac

  1. Choose the Apple menu, then System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone, and turn access on for your browser and for OBS.
  2. Open System Settings, Sound, Input and select the microphone you speak into. Its level bar moves as you speak.
  3. Drag the input volume slider if you are too quiet or too loud, then test again here.

On a Chromebook

  1. Select the time at the bottom right, then Settings, Privacy and security, Privacy controls, and turn on Microphone access. Off here blocks the microphone for every app and site.
  2. Choose the microphone under Settings, Device, Audio, Input, or from the arrow beside the volume in Quick Settings.
  3. Some Chromebooks have a physical microphone switch: make sure it is on.

On Linux

  1. Open Settings, Sound, and choose the microphone under Input; its level bar moves as you speak.
  2. With PulseAudio or PipeWire, pavucontrol (PulseAudio Volume Control) shows every input on the Input Devices tab and which app is recording on the Recording tab.
  3. A browser installed as a Snap or Flatpak can be blocked by that packaging system’s own permissions; a browser from your distribution’s own packages avoids that layer.

On a phone or tablet

  1. Testing your phone’s microphone works here too: open this page in Safari on an iPhone or iPad, or in Chrome on Android, and press Start microphone.
  2. iPhone and iPad: Settings, Apps, Safari, Microphone, then Ask or Allow (on older iOS versions, Settings, Safari, Microphone).
  3. Android: in Chrome, tap the icon left of the address, then Permissions, Microphone.
  4. A phone browser usually turns on its own noise and echo processing, so a phone reading is a working check, not a level for OBS.

In the browser

Open this site’s permissions beside the address bar and allow Microphone, then press Start microphone again. Close other apps and tabs that may be holding the microphone. The page needs a secure HTTPS connection, so open it in your usual browser rather than inside another app.

Works here, but not in OBS

Then your system is fine and OBS is listening to the wrong device or to nothing. Follow microphone not showing up in OBS.

In OBS Studio

  1. Open Settings, Audio, and choose your microphone under Mic/Auxiliary Audio, or add an Audio Input Capture source to a scene.
  2. OBS sends your voice as the device delivers it: no automatic gain and no noise removal unless you add filters. That is why this page shows the unprocessed signal by default and why OBS’s meter zones match the meter above.
  3. Set the level at the microphone or interface first, then add a noise gate or noise suppression filter if the room needs it.

In Discord

  1. Open User Settings (the gear at the bottom left), Voice & Video, and choose your microphone under Input Device. Let’s Check under Mic Test plays your voice back (desktop app and browser only).
  2. Discord can process your voice: Noise Suppression (Krisp), Echo Cancellation and Automatic Gain Control, plus an input sensitivity that cuts you off between words. If you sound choppy or pumping, turn them off one at a time.
  3. Discord’s own processing does not reach OBS. A stream that captures Discord hears your friends through Discord and you through OBS.

In Zoom

  1. In the desktop app, select your profile picture, Settings, Audio. Choose the microphone and press Test microphone: Zoom records and plays back.
  2. By default Zoom removes background noise and cancels echo (Microphone modes, Background noise suppression: Auto, Low, Medium or High). Automatically adjust microphone volume rides your level for you and hides the manual slider. Original sound for musicians turns the noise suppression off.
  3. If Zoom does not list your microphone, the system permission above is usually off for Zoom.

In Microsoft Teams

  1. Select Settings and more (…), Settings, Devices, then choose the microphone under Audio settings.
  2. Noise suppression is on by default and suppresses background sound; Voice isolation also suppresses other people’s voices. Microsoft suggests turning it off for a high-quality microphone in a quiet room. Automatically adjust mic sensitivity rides your level.
  3. Make a test call on the same page records a short message and plays it back (Windows and Mac apps).

In Google Meet

  1. In Meet, choose More options, Settings, Audio, and pick the Microphone.
  2. Noise cancellation removes non-speech sounds such as typing or a door; it is on by default on many paid Google Workspace accounts and off on others. Turn it off if you need music or other sounds heard.
  3. Meet runs in the browser, so the browser permission beside the address bar decides whether it can hear you at all.

Menu paths checked October 9, 2026 on each maker’s help pages.

Getting the level right

Start at the microphone. OBS’s own guide says to begin with the device: the gain knob on the microphone or interface, then your system’s input volume, and only then the OBS fader. Raising the fader to rescue a quiet microphone raises the room noise with it.

Aim for your normal speech to peak in the upper yellow, between -20 and -9 dBFS on this meter, with your loudest moments reaching the start of the red and never 0. Then record and listen back, as OBS also advises, because a meter cannot tell you whether you sound muffled, distant or harsh.

If only one channel moves, as happens with a microphone in input 1 of a two-input interface, viewers would hear you in one ear. In OBS, turn on Downmix to Mono for that source in Advanced Audio Properties.

From these readings to OBS filters

A noise gate needs a gap between the room’s peaks and your voice to close in pauses and open on speech. The suggestion above uses those peaks, separate from the average room and speech readouts. Close starts 3 dB above the room peak and Open 10 dB below the speech peak. These are this site’s starting margins, not OBS defaults. Record in OBS and check quiet words and pauses. OBS audio filters and settings explains how to adjust the thresholds.

Questions

How do I test my microphone on Windows 11?

Open Start, Settings, System, Sound, select your microphone under Input, and press Start test. Speak normally, stop the test and play the sample back. This page does the same with a meter and notes on what to fix.

How do I test my microphone on a Mac?

Open System Settings, Sound, Input and select your microphone; its level moves as you speak. Then allow your browser under Privacy & Security, Microphone and use this page to record and play back.

Why does my microphone sound different in a browser call?

A browser call app can switch on automatic gain control, noise suppression and echo cancellation, which this test leaves off. Automatic gain keeps the volume steady by turning it up and down for you. Turn on Browser voice processing above to hear that version.

What do dBFS numbers mean?

Decibels below full scale: 0 dBFS is the loudest sample the input can carry, and everything else is a negative number. A peak at 0 means clipping, which distortion you cannot remove afterwards.

Which microphone should I get for streaming?

Decide by your room and your connection first. The best microphone for streaming guide matches the current models to each situation and lists what else each one needs.

Is this microphone test private?

Yes. The sound, readings and clip stay in your browser and are never uploaded. This site counts only that a test ran, not what it heard.

Este teste em português: Teste de microfone

Esta prueba en español: Prueba de micrófono

本测试的中文版：麦克风测试

Dieser Test auf Deutsch: Mikrofontest

Questo test in italiano: Test microfono

Sources