How to Test Your Mic on Windows 11

Open the input settings

Right-click the speaker icon on the taskbar and choose Sound settings, or open Settings, System, Sound. Scroll to Input.

Under Choose a device for speaking or recording, pick your mic. A headset, a USB mic, a webcam and the motherboard's own jack can all be listed, often with similar names; an XLR mic shows up as its interface's name.

Run Start test

Select your mic to open its properties, then press Start test under Test your microphone and talk at your normal chat volume for a few seconds. Press Stop test. Windows shows the result as a percentage of the total volume.

A result that stays near 0% while you talk means Windows isn't getting your voice from this device: check the mute button on the mic or headset first, then the input volume on the same page.

To hear yourself back, record a clip with our mic test in the browser.

Set the input volume

Drag Input volume up if your voice barely registers, down if the test sits near the top when you talk normally. Change it in small steps and test again.

If the mic has its own gain knob, set that first and leave Windows near the middle: the mic's own gain usually adds less noise.

Mic not in the list?

Unplug it and plug it into another USB port, directly on the computer rather than a hub. For a 3.5 mm headset on a laptop, use the combined headset jack or a splitter that separates mic and headphones.

Then open Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone and check that Microphone access, Let apps access your microphone and Let desktop apps access your microphone are on. Games and Discord are desktop apps.

• Mic still not detected in Windows

Works here but not in your app?

Windows' test only proves Windows hears the mic. Each app keeps its own input choice: pick the same mic in Discord's Voice & Video settings, in the game's audio options, or in Steam's Voice settings, then use the app's own test.

• Discord mic check
• Discord cuts your voice out