Headset test
A headset is two devices in one shell, and they fail independently. Test both earcups and the boom microphone here, then read the quirks that only headsets have.
Last reviewed on August 26, 2026
A headset is two devices in one shell, and they fail independently. Test both earcups and the boom microphone here, then read the quirks that only headsets have.
Last reviewed on August 26, 2026
A headset test has to cover more ground than a headphone test, because a headset is really two devices sharing a cable: a pair of drivers and a microphone. They are enumerated separately by your operating system, selected separately by each application, and they fail separately. The two tools above check each half in turn — earcups first, boom microphone second — and everything runs in your browser with nothing recorded or uploaded.
Before you start: check the boom is not muted. Most headsets mute by flipping the boom upward, by a slider on the cable, or by a button on the earcup — and all three are silent about it. A muted boom is the single most common reason a headset microphone "stops working".
How a headset connects changes which failures are plausible, and it is worth knowing which category you are in before you start changing settings.
| Connection | How it appears to the computer | Its characteristic failure |
|---|---|---|
| USB or USB-C | Its own sound card, one combined device | Underpowered hubs; the headset appears but the microphone half is unreliable. Plug directly into the machine to test. |
| 3.5 mm, single plug (TRRS) | Uses the laptop's sound card; one combo jack carries both | Works fine, provided the jack is a genuine combo jack. Many desktop front panels are not. |
| 3.5 mm, two plugs (TRS pair) | Separate headphone and microphone jacks | Plugged into a single combo jack with the wrong adapter, playback works and the microphone is dead. |
| Wireless dongle (2.4 GHz) | A USB sound card that happens to be wireless | Generally the most reliable option; failures are usually dongle placement or a flat battery. |
| Bluetooth | Two profiles, switched automatically | Playback quality collapses the instant the microphone is enabled. See below. |
If a headset passes this test over USB and fails over 3.5 mm, the headset is fine and the laptop's combo jack is the problem. A USB or USB-C adapter is the usual fix.
This is by far the most common headset complaint, and it almost never means the microphone has failed. Work through these in order:
The dedicated guide to a headset microphone that is not working goes through each of these with the exact settings paths on Windows and macOS.
If your Bluetooth headset sounds excellent for music and dreadful the moment a call starts, nothing is broken. Bluetooth carries high-quality stereo in one direction using a media profile, and it carries a two-way conversation using a hands-free profile with far less bandwidth. Enabling the microphone forces the switch, and both playback and capture quality drop immediately and audibly.
You will hear this on this page too: run the earcup test, then start the microphone test and run the earcup test again. On most Bluetooth headsets the second pass sounds noticeably duller. That is the profile switch, not your hardware degrading.
The practical workarounds are a 2.4 GHz dongle instead of Bluetooth, a wired connection for calls, or using the headset for playback and a separate microphone for capture. Our guide to Bluetooth microphone quality explains the trade-offs in more detail.
A closed-back headset seals your own voice out of your ears, so your brain compensates by raising your volume. Everyone on the call then hears you shouting while you hear yourself normally.
The fix is sidetone — a small amount of your own microphone fed back into the earcups. Many business headsets have it built in; gaming headsets often expose it in their vendor software as "mic monitoring". If yours has neither, the level meter above is a reasonable substitute: watch it while you talk for a minute and you will recalibrate quickly. Peaks around 40–75% are the target; consistently pinned at 100% means you are too loud and clipping, which sounds harsher to listeners than being slightly too quiet.
To hear what you actually sound like on the other end, record a few seconds with the record and playback tool and listen back through the headset.
Test the earcups first with the automatic left-to-right check, then the boom microphone with the level meter. A headset is two devices in one shell and they fail independently, so checking them separately tells you which half needs attention.
Usually a boom mute you have not noticed, a 3.5 mm plug in a jack that only carries headphone signal, or a headset that Windows has registered as two separate devices where only the output half is selected.
Enabling the microphone forces Bluetooth into a hands-free profile that shares limited bandwidth in both directions. Playback quality drops sharply and recovers as soon as the microphone is released.
Test whichever you plan to use — but if you are diagnosing a fault, try both. Working over USB and failing over 3.5 mm points at the laptop's combo jack, not the headset.
Not quite. A headphone test only checks playback. A headset adds a microphone, a mute control, and on wireless models a profile switch that changes playback the moment the mic is used.
No. Tones are generated in your browser and the microphone signal is analysed for level and waveform, then discarded. Nothing is stored or uploaded.