My microphone is not working. What do I do?

Work through these in order.

1. Check the browser gave permission

The first time you open a speaking question we ask for microphone access. If you dismissed that prompt, or blocked it, recording will not start.

Look for a small camera or microphone icon in the address bar, click it, and allow access for this site. Then reload the page.

2. Check you are on a secure connection

Browsers only allow recording over https. If the address bar shows a warning about the connection, recording will not work regardless of permissions.

3. Check nothing else is holding the microphone

A video call in another tab or another application can hold the microphone exclusively. Close it and reload.

4. If the level meter stays flat

On some phones the recording works correctly even though the level meter does not move. If you can play your recording back and hear yourself, the attempt was captured properly and only the meter is affected.

Where the meter is not working, the automatic stop will not trigger either — use the stop button, which is always available while recording.

Still stuck?

Write to us and tell us the device, the browser, and whether you can hear yourself on playback. That last detail saves a round of questions.