Microphone Not Working? Fix It

• Permission denied. Open the lock/tune icon in the address bar → allow the microphone → press Start again. Also check the OS privacy switch for microphone access.
• No microphone detected. Connect a device, check OS sound settings, reload, press Start.
• Microphone is busy. Close video calls, recorders or other tabs using the mic, then retry.
• Device disconnected. Reconnect, reselect it in the microphone list, press Start.
• Browser not supported. Use a recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari in a secure (HTTPS) context.
• Still stuck? Reload the page, try another microphone, and check OS-level mic privacy switches.

Try this order first

1. Reload the page and press Start once more. A second rapid click can queue two requests and leave the panel stuck on idle dashes.
2. Confirm the address starts with https. Plain http and file addresses routinely block capture even when the browser looks ready.
3. Select the exact input in the microphone list. Laptops often expose a built-in array plus a headset or monitor microphone, and the wrong choice records a silent room down the hall.
4. Close video calls, voice recorders and other tabs holding the microphone, then reselect the device and press Start.
5. Run the 30-second microphone noise-floor test. Real moving dBFS numbers prove the path is alive; frozen dashes point back at permission or a busy device.

Why the browser asks only once per site

Permission is remembered once per origin, so a later visit on the same address starts faster while a different subdomain asks again. Use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari over a secure context, keep the microphone uncovered at ear height, and expect mono capture with echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain requested off where the browser allows it. Input is processed locally and never routed to speakers, so feedback howl during a test means monitoring is on elsewhere. Read how to use the meter for placement and privacy for what stays in this browser.

Signs the fault sits outside the page

• System meter frozen too. If the operating-system sound panel shows no input movement either, inspect its privacy switch, volume and device selection before returning here.
• Bluetooth device vanished. Re-pair it, wait for the connected chime, reselect it in the page list, and press Start. Earbuds that dropped back to a laptop microphone change gain and placement entirely.
• Works in one browser, silent in another. That split usually means a per-browser site permission or an extension blocking capture. Clear the site permission for this origin in the silent browser and allow it again from the address-bar icon.

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