Headset Test

This headset test checks both halves of a headset in one place. Step 1 plays a chime in the left earcup and then the right, and asks where you heard each one, so swapped, silent and mono earcups show up straight away. Step 2 opens the headset mic and measures your level and the background noise. Step 3 is a loopback check: the tester plays tones into the earcups while the mic listens, which proves the earcups and the mic work together. It works with USB, 3.5 mm and Bluetooth headsets, gaming and office headsets, and earbuds with a mic, on Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, Linux and phones.

How to test your headset

1. Choose the headset under Sound plays on. This works in Chrome and Edge. In other browsers, make the headset your system's default output first.
2. Put the headset on, press Left, then answer where you heard the chime. Do the same with Right.
3. Choose the headset under Microphone, press Start mic and talk for a few seconds, then stay quiet for two.
4. Take the headset off, hold the left earcup against the mic and press Run loopback check. Stay quiet while it runs.
5. Turn on Hear yourself to listen to your own voice through the earcups, then press Copy results if you need to send them to support.

What the results mean

When the mic is running, the line under the pickers also tells you whether your sound and your mic belong to the same headset. Picking the headset for sound but leaving the laptop mic as the input is the most common headset mistake.

USB, 3.5 mm and console headsets

A USB headset has its own sound card, so it appears as a separate device for sound and for the mic. If you hear nothing, it is usually not the default device. Select it by name for both.

A 3.5 mm headset with one plug has three rings on the plug, separating four contacts: left, right, ground and mic (TRRS). Laptops, phones and game controllers have one combined socket for this plug. Many desktop PCs have a green socket for sound and a pink one for the mic, so they need a splitter cable with one four-contact socket and two plugs. A headset with two plugs needs the opposite adapter on a laptop. Plug a headset into a green socket without a splitter and the sound works but the mic does not.

Two wiring standards exist for these plugs. Almost every device today uses CTIA, while some older phones and cheap adapters use OMTP, which swaps the mic and ground contacts. A mismatch causes a loud buzz, a dead mic, or music where the voices vanish until you press the headset button.

On Windows, a message such as Which device did you plug in? comes from the audio driver, such as Realtek or Dell's Waves MaxxAudio. Choose Headset. Choosing Headphones turns the headset mic off.

Console headsets follow the same rules. The 3.5 mm socket on a PlayStation or Xbox controller takes the same four-contact plug, and a USB or dongle headset works on a computer when the computer recognises its dongle. Headsets that only connect wirelessly to an Xbox need Microsoft's Xbox Wireless Adapter on a PC.

Why Bluetooth headsets sound worse with the mic on

Bluetooth headsets have two modes. The music mode plays high quality stereo but has no mic. When any app opens the mic, the headset switches to its hands-free call mode, which carries sound both ways in mono at 8 or 16 kHz. Music and game sound turn flat and muffled, and your voice sounds like a phone call. Windows 10 lists the two modes as separate devices, usually named Headphones and Headset. Windows 11 shows one device and switches modes by itself whenever an app opens the mic.

The fix is to use the computer's own mic, a USB mic, or a headset with its own USB dongle for calls, so no app opens the Bluetooth mic. On Windows 10, also pick the stereo Headphones entry as your output. Headsets and computers that both support Bluetooth LE Audio keep better quality with the mic on, but most headsets in use today do not. Step 2 shows the mic's sample rate: 16 kHz or 8 kHz confirms hands-free mode. Bluetooth also adds a delay you can hear with Hear yourself, which the bluetooth audio latency test measures. For pairing problems, see bluetooth not working.

One earcup is silent or quiet

1. Push the plug all the way in, then turn it slowly and wiggle it while a chime plays. Sound that cuts in and out means a worn cable, usually just above the plug, or a dirty socket.
2. Check the balance. On Windows 11 open Settings, then System, then Sound, select the headset and set the Left channel and Right channel sliders equal. On a Mac open System Settings, then Sound, then Output and center the Balance slider.
3. Check mono audio. Turn off Mono audio in Settings, then Accessibility, then Audio on Windows, or Play stereo audio as mono in System Settings, then Accessibility, then Audio on a Mac.
4. Try the headset on another device. If the fault moves with the headset, the headset is faulty. If it stays with the computer, the headphone jack not working guide covers the socket and drivers.

To compare the two sides by ear, the stereo test plays sound in each channel, and the headphone test covers headphones without a mic. If you hear nothing at all, start with headphones not working.

The headset mic is silent, quiet or far away

• The laptop mic is in use. Pick the headset by name in the Microphone list. The line under the pickers warns when sound and mic are on different devices.
• A mute switch. Look for a slider on the cable or a boom that mutes when you flip it up. Some headsets beep or light up when muted.
• The wrong socket or adapter. A four-contact plug in a three-contact socket, or a splitter used the wrong way, leaves the mic disconnected.
• The boom is out of place. It should sit just beside the corner of your mouth, about two finger widths away.

The mic test gives a fuller diagnosis of level, noise and clipping, with fixes for Windows and Mac privacy settings.

What a browser headset test cannot check

A browser sees device names, not hardware details, so it cannot tell a USB headset from a 3.5 mm one plugged into a USB adapter. Picking the output inside the page works in Chrome and Edge only. The loopback check relies on sound leaking from the earcup into the mic, and headsets with strong noise reduction on the mic can hide the test tones, so a failed check is a hint rather than proof. Virtual 7.1 surround is produced by headset software, so test it with the 7.1 surround sound test headset page instead.

Headset test questions