Background noise
Noise floor above −45 dBFS
- Room · source off
- Mic · closer mic
- System · input volume
§ 00 — Test
Mic test with a noise check
See how much noise your microphone sends, then compare it with the browser's suppression on and off.
§ 00 — Noise test
Ready
Names appear after you allow the microphone.
Audio is processed by this page in your browser and is not sent to our server.
Press Start test.
Your browser will ask to use the microphone. Then stay quiet for 4 seconds and read one sentence for 6.
Applied by your browser
Your result
Noise floor — Waiting for the test.
Speech — Waiting for the test.
SNR — Waiting for the test.
Peak — Waiting for the test.
Hum — Waiting for the test.
- Discord: run the test to see the verdict.
- Zoom: run the test to see the verdict.
- Microsoft Teams: run the test to see the verdict.
- Google Meet: run the test to see the verdict.
- Slack (huddles): run the test to see the verdict.
- Webex: run the test to see the verdict.
- FaceTime: run the test to see the verdict.
- WhatsApp: run the test to see the verdict.
- Telegram: run the test to see the verdict.
- Signal: run the test to see the verdict.
- Messenger: run the test to see the verdict.
- Steam voice chat: run the test to see the verdict.
- Roblox voice chat: run the test to see the verdict.
- TeamSpeak: run the test to see the verdict.
- Xbox party chat: run the test to see the verdict.
- PlayStation party chat: run the test to see the verdict.
Suppression off and on
§ 01 — Read
How to read the numbers
dBFS is decibels below full scale, the loudest level a digital recording can hold. 0 is the ceiling, so every reading is negative and a bigger negative number is quieter. dB on its own is a difference between two levels.
| Number | What it is | Good | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noise floor | The level your mic sends while you are quiet. Others hear it in every pause. | ≤ −60 dBFS | > −45 dBFS |
| Speech | The loud end of your normal speaking level. | ≥ −30 dBFS | < −30 dBFS |
| SNR | How far your voice sits above the noise floor. | ≥ 30 dB | < 20 dB |
| Peak | Your loudest single moment. At the ceiling, sound distorts. | ≤ −1 dBFS | clipping |
| Hum | A steady tone at 50 or 60 Hz from power wiring, chargers or cables. 60 Hz in North America, 50 Hz in most other regions. | none | 50 or 60 Hz |
§ 02 — Fix
Fix what you found
Echo
Meter moves while speakers play
- Room · headphones
- Room · one device per room
- Room · TV down
Static and hiss
A steady hiss or static sits under your voice and stays when you stop talking
- Room · fan off
- Mic · lower gain
- Mic · charger out
Robotic voice
Your voice reaches others metallic, chopped up or underwater, or theirs reaches you that way
- Mic · USB headset
- System · separate devices
- System · close apps
Mic too quiet
People keep asking you to speak up, or your level meter barely moves
- Mic · closer
- Mic · right input
- System · input volume
Keyboard noise
Every keypress clicks through on the call, loudest with a mechanical keyboard
- Room · distance
- Mic · aim the mic
- App · threshold
Fan noise
A steady whoosh from a laptop, PC or room fan runs under everything you say
- Room · fan off
- Room · distance
- Mic · headset
Hum and buzz
A low drone at 50 or 60 Hz, or an electrical buzz, sits under your voice
- Mic · ground loop
- Mic · charger
- Mic · direct USB
Voice cutting out
The first word of each sentence is clipped, quiet words vanish, or you drop out in the middle of speaking
- Mic · closer
- Mic · USB headset
- App · threshold
Others hear themselves
Someone says they can hear themselves whenever you are unmuted
- Room · headphones
- Room · one device
- Room · one audio source
Bluetooth mic sounds bad
Your earbuds sound fine for music but muffled and thin on calls, for you and for the people you talk to
- Mic · separate mic
- Mic · one device
- Mic · AirPods mic
Game audio in the mic
Your teammates hear your game, music or video along with your voice
- Room · headphones
- Mic · volume down
- System · driver mixer
Wind and breath pops
Thumps on P and B sounds, breathing on the mic, or a roar of wind outdoors
- Room · windshield
- Mic · angle
- Mic · pop filter
Popping and crackling
Random clicks, crackles and short dropouts that are not tied to what you say
- Mic · cable
- Mic · grounding
- System · same rate
Mic picks up everything
The mic hears the whole house: other people, the TV, the kitchen, the street
- Room · close the door
- Mic · closer
- Mic · cardioid
Too loud and clipping
Your voice distorts or breaks up when you laugh or raise it
- Mic · back off
- Mic · gain down
- System · input volume
Delay and lag
Conversations keep overlapping because your voice, or theirs, arrives late
- App · push to talk
- App · video off
- Network · VPN off
One-sided audio
You can hear them but they can't hear you, or the other way round
- Mic · unmute
- Mic · one device
- System · mic permission
Laptop mic picks up typing
Typing on the laptop thuds and clicks straight into the call through the built-in mic
- Mic · headset
- Mic · external keyboard
- System · system filter
Phone call background noise
Calls on your phone carry street, café or car noise to the person you are talking to
- Room · quieter spot
- Mic · bottom mic
- Mic · off speaker
Clipping
Peak above −1 dBFS or more than 10 clipped samples
- Mic · move back a little
- System · lower the input volume
- App · turn auto gain off if it overshoots
§ 03 — Apps
Per-app verdicts
After the test, every app gets one line: fine, usable with suppression on, voice too close to the noise or noise cancellation needed. Each line opens to say why and links to that app's settings.
| App | Fine at or under | Usable up to | SNR bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discord | −40 dBFS | −30 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Zoom | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Microsoft Teams | −40 dBFS | −30 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Google Meet | −40 dBFS | −30 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Slack (huddles) | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Webex | −40 dBFS | −30 dBFS | 20 dB |
| FaceTime | −40 dBFS | −30 dBFS | 20 dB |
| −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB | |
| Telegram | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Signal | −60 dBFS | −45 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Messenger | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Steam voice chat | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Roblox voice chat | −60 dBFS | −45 dBFS | 20 dB |
| TeamSpeak | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| Xbox party chat | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
| PlayStation party chat | −50 dBFS | −40 dBFS | 20 dB |
The bars are our rule of thumb for how much steady noise each app's built-in suppression copes with, not figures from the apps. Opening the test from an app page (for example /mic-test/?app=discord) lists that app first.
§ 04 — Compare
Suppression off and on
After a test, Compare suppression off / on records 5 seconds with your browser's noise suppression off, then 5 seconds with it on. You get the noise floor of each, the difference, and both clips to play back where your browser can record them. If your browser does not let the page switch suppression, the test says so and skips this step.
§ 05 — Questions
Questions
Q.01Is my audio recorded or uploaded?
Audio is processed by this page in your browser and is not sent to our server. The two comparison clips are kept in the page's memory for playback and dropped when you reset or leave the page.
Q.02Why does the test turn noise suppression on by default?
Because call apps usually ask the browser for it. Leave it on to hear roughly what a web call gets, or switch it off to measure the raw mic and room.
Q.03What is a good noise floor?
At or below −60 dBFS is quiet. Between −60 and −45 dBFS the noise is noticeable but suppression handles it. Above −45 dBFS, fix the room or the mic first.
Q.04Why do my numbers differ from another mic test?
Tools measure over different windows and with different processing. This test reads plain RMS levels in 100 ms slices, with the browser processing you chose, and the methodology lists every rule.
Q.05Which browsers does the test work in?
Current browsers that let a page use the microphone over https and support Web Audio. If yours does not, the test says why instead of starting.