How to Test a Microphone on a Windows PC

After you've finished installing your microphone on Windows, make sure you don't neglect to test its functionality.Because although you've done half the installation, it's very common to end up with a microphone that's only half functional, or in some cases not working at all.

So let's take a look at the best ways to test and fix your microphone on your Windows PC.

How to Test Your Microphone via Windows Settings on Windows 11

Testing a microphone on Windows requires trying all kinds of things -- all of which are testing the microphone on different parameters.A fairly popular way to test your Windows microphone is by using Windows Settings.Here's how:

1. Go to the Start menu search bar, type "settings" and select the best match.

2. Select System > Sound.

3. Click the Microphone option and select your microphone.

4. From the Properties menu, check the Input Volume setting by moving the Volume slider.

5. Click the "Start Test" button to start the microphone test.

6. Speak into the microphone for a while, then tap Stop Test.

If the microphone is working perfectly then you should see a result percentage greater than 75%.

NOTE: Make sure your computer is also using the correct microphone.This information should be given just under Select Input Device.If you don't see your current microphone, click the drop-down menu and select the correct one.

How to test the microphone on Windows 10

Testing to see if your microphone is working is a little different on Windows 10 than it is on Windows 11.Once you've set up your microphone on your PC, here's how you can check that it's working on Windows 10:

1. Right-click the speaker icon and select Sound.

2. In the "Sound" dialog box, select the "Recording" tab. (If your microphone is not set as the default device, click it and select Set as default device.)

3. Now click on Microphone and select Configure to open the Speech Recognition window.

4. Click the Set Microphone window to open the Microphone Setup Wizard.

5. Select the type of microphone you have connected and click Next.Read the instructions again and click Next again.

6. Speak into your mic from there, if you see the lower bar working, that means your mic is working.

7. Click "Next" > "Finish" to finalize the test settings for the microphone.

How to Test Your Microphone With Free Online Tools

While the default Windows tools almost always get the job done reliably, there are times when you might want to take a third-party route.As far as the microphone is concerned, if this is the case,Online Mic Testwill be your best choice.

Just go to the official website and hit the play button from the home page.Now pick a microphone from the list of available options and click Allow.Speak into your microphone and the online tool will begin testing its functionality.To get a good idea of ​​what your microphone is capable of, just look at the line that moves up and down on the home page.

So if you see this line go up and down as you speak into the mic, congratulations; it means your mic is working fine.If the web app doesn't work for some reason, you should go through the troubleshooting guide (also mentioned on the main page) and you'll get a good idea of ​​what to try differently.

Test your microphone on a Windows computer

Setting up your microphone is only half the battle.In many cases, even if you've successfully set everything up, your mic may still need to be repaired.Therefore, we recommend that you test everything ahead of time and see if the installation was successful.