To test your microphone, open a mic test, allow access, and speak. If the level meter moves with your voice, the mic is working. The free microphone test shows a live meter and waveform, lets you record a short clip to play back, and never uploads anything.
That answers the question. Below is how to read what you see, and how to fix a mic that seems dead.
What “working” actually means
A microphone can be detected and still be useless on a call if it is too quiet, picking the wrong source, or drowning in background hiss. A good test checks three things at once: that sound registers, at a healthy level, and that it plays back clearly. The meter handles the first two; the recording handles the third.
How to test your microphone
Step 1: Allow access and pick an input
Open the microphone test, press start, and accept the permission prompt. If your computer lists several inputs, a built-in mic, a webcam mic, a headset, choose the one you actually want to use. This step alone fixes a lot of “my mic is broken” reports, because the system was listening to the wrong device.
Step 2: Watch the level
Speak at your normal volume. The meter should rise and fall with your voice, sitting comfortably in the middle rather than pinned at the top or barely twitching at the bottom. A meter that never moves points to a muted or wrong input. One that slams into the red on every word means the input gain is too high and your voice will distort.
Step 3: Record and listen
Capture a few seconds and play it back. This is the part that matters most, because the meter cannot tell you about a crackle, a hum, or a mic that cuts out. Listen for clarity and for noise you had not noticed. The clip stays on your device.
Fixing a mic that picks up nothing
- Wrong input selected. The single most common cause. Switch inputs in the test and in your system sound settings.
- Muted in the operating system. Many headsets have an inline mute, and laptops have mute keys. Check both.
- Permission denied. Look for the mic icon in the address bar and set it to allow.
- App is holding the device. Close other call apps that may have grabbed the microphone.
If the meter still does not move after all of that, and the mic fails elsewhere, the hardware or cable is suspect.
A note on levels and noise
Aim for a level that peaks around two-thirds of the meter when you speak normally. Quieter than that and people strain to hear you; louder and your voice clips. Background noise, a fan, a keyboard, a busy room, shows up as a meter that never returns to zero between words. Moving the mic closer and turning the gain down often does more for clarity than any software filter.
With the mic sorted, run a quick speaker test so you can hear others as well as be heard, and a webcam test if the call is on camera.