Quick answers before you test
Why is my mic not working?
If the meter does not move, check the mute switch on the headset or cable, pick the right microphone in the list, and allow microphone access in Windows Settings, Privacy and security, Microphone — for desktop apps and your browser.
Why does my Bluetooth headset sound bad?
Using its microphone switches the headset to hands-free mode, which carries voice at telephone quality and drops game audio to the same. The check shows it: the microphone stops at 4 or 8 kHz. Use the USB dongle or a separate microphone for games.
What input sensitivity should I use in Discord?
Between your room and your voice. The check measures both and gives the dB value to set once you turn off automatic input sensitivity.
Is my voice too quiet or too loud?
Speech should peak in the green zone, roughly −24 to −6 dBFS. Below that teammates turn you up along with your room; at 0 the voice clips and crackles.
What the result actually measures
The page opens your microphone with the browser’s voice processing off, so it hears the raw signal, and reads it many times a second: the level in dBFS with a peak hold and a clipping flag, and the spectrum, drawn as a scrolling spectrogram. The ten-second check records three seconds of your room and five of your voice, then measures the noise floor, your speech level and the gap between them, the share of samples at full scale, mains hum at 50 or 60 Hz, a DC offset, an uneven stereo input, and the highest frequency your voice reaches — the tell of a Bluetooth headset in hands-free mode. From the two levels it gives the voice-activation threshold to set. The recorder keeps up to four takes to play back, with voice processing on or off.
Measurement boundary: The page hears what the browser receives. Discord and other apps apply their own processing, so they can sound cleaner (noise suppression) or worse (heavy compression) than the raw recording here. A sample rate the browser reports may be a resampled rate; the measured bandwidth is the real one. Levels depend on how loud and how close you speak, so compare checks made the same way.
How to interpret the output
Room noise
The level of your room with you silent. Below −60 dBFS is quiet; above −45 dBFS your teammates hear fans, keys or traffic whenever your mic is open.
Your voice
How loud your speech peaks. Aim for −24 to −6 dBFS: loud enough to sit over the room, with room to spare before clipping.
Voice above noise
The gap between the two. 30 dB or more is clean; under 20 dB the background is clearly audible; under 12 dB voice activation cannot separate you from the room.
Highest pitch captured
Where your voice stops in the spectrum. A good microphone reaches past 15 kHz; around 8 kHz is a Bluetooth headset’s wideband hands-free mode, around 4 kHz is telephone quality.
Troubleshooting unexpected results
The meter does not move
Check the mute switch, choose the right microphone above, and in Windows Settings, Privacy and security, Microphone, allow both microphone access and desktop apps. On a phone, allow the microphone for the browser in the system settings.
The browser never asks
It remembers a refusal. Click the icon at the left of the address bar, set the microphone to Allow, and reload.
My voice sounds like a phone call
A Bluetooth headset’s microphone forces hands-free mode. Use the headset’s USB dongle, a wired connection, or a separate microphone; in Windows, also check the headset is not chosen as the default communication device for game audio.
There is a buzz or hum
A ground loop or electrical noise. Plug the headset straight into the PC rather than a hub or front panel, try another USB port, and keep the cable away from power adapters.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test my mic?
Press Start microphone, allow it, and talk: the meter should move into the green zone. Run the ten-second check for the full picture, and record a take to hear yourself.
How can I hear myself on my mic?
Use Record, then play the take back. Live monitoring is left off on purpose: through speakers it would feed back into the microphone.
Why do my friends hear background noise?
Your room is too close in level to your voice. The check measures the gap; under 20 dB, use push-to-talk, bring the microphone closer, or switch on noise suppression.
What is a good microphone level in dB?
Speech peaks between −24 and −6 dBFS, with the room below −50 dBFS. The meter’s green zone marks the target.
Does Microphone Boost help?
Only when the microphone is too quiet at full input volume. Boost raises the room noise along with your voice, so use the least that brings speech into the green zone.
Does this page record or upload my voice?
Nothing is uploaded. The level and spectrum are read in the page; takes you record stay in this tab’s memory and disappear when you leave.
