🔉Lower the system volume first, then raise the slider below
Nothing is playingPlay will use: both sides · 440 Hz
playedMore settings
20 to 20000 Hz
Pressed play and heard nothing? Check the system volume and the output device first; on iPhone or iPad, also check that Silent mode is off (the side switch, the Action button on newer models, or Control Center).
How to use the three tests
Check left, right and both
Play one side at a time. Both sides should sound the same, and the side you hear should be the side named on screen.
If the sound arrives from the other side, something swaps the channels: the cable, the connector, the system settings, or how the headphones are being worn. This page cannot tell which, and it has no way to know whether you have them on the right way round.
If one side plays in both ears, the usual cause is mono audio or spatial audio turned on in the system, or a Bluetooth headset in call mode; if one side is just quieter, check the left/right balance first. Where to find these settings is listed in the checklist further down the page.
A steady tone at the frequency you choose
Low frequencies show whether anything reaches a woofer at all. High ones are where small speakers, and older ears, usually give up.
Sweep the audible range
The frequency climbs from the bottom of the range to the top without stopping, so a band that drops out is easy to notice.
A dip you hear belongs to this speaker, in this room, through this browser. It is not a frequency response measurement, and it says nothing about your hearing.
What the browser reports
Sample rate—Output channels—
Shown after the first playback
These are values the browser reports for the current output device, not your speaker specification. They can change when you plug in headphones or switch output device.
This tool only confirms that audio was handed to the system output. What the speaker actually produced is something no web page can read back.
Nothing here measures loudness, frequency response, distortion or sound pressure. Those need a calibrated microphone and a controlled room.
This is not a hearing test. Hearing tests are a medical procedure; if you are worried about your hearing, see a professional rather than reading anything into a sweep.
The left and right result depends on the headphones being worn the right way round. If they are swapped on your head, this page has no way to know.
On iPhone or iPad, Silent mode can mute web audio completely on older iOS versions while the browser still reports that playback is running, and this page has no way to know.
Browsers only allow audio after a click, so the audio engine starts with your first playback and the reported values appear then.
This page caps its own output level, but it cannot cap your amplifier or your headphones.
Browser sound output · nothing is recorded
What the sound test checks
Send a test signal to your speakers or headphones: one channel at a time to check left against right, a steady tone at a frequency you pick, or a sweep across the audible range. Your ears make the call, the browser only sends the signal.
No sound, or left and right seem wrong? Check in this order
A web page cannot read any of these settings, so only you can check them. Work down the list and play the signal again after each change.
Volume and mute
Turn up both the system volume and the volume on the headphones or speaker itself. The browser tab or the whole site may be muted too (a crossed-out speaker on the tab), and in the Windows volume mixer the browser has a volume slider of its own.
Output device
Plugging in headphones or connecting Bluetooth does not always move the sound there. Check in your system sound settings that the current output is the device you want to test.
Mono audio
With mono audio on, "Left only" plays in both ears and the left/right test looks broken. Turn it off before testing: on iPhone and iPad, Mono Audio in Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual; on Mac, "Play stereo audio as mono" in System Settings > Accessibility > Audio; on Windows 11, Mono audio in Settings > Accessibility > Audio; on Android, under Accessibility in Settings, where the name and location vary by maker.
Left/right balance
If one side is clearly quieter, check whether a balance slider leans to one side: on iPhone and iPad it is on the same page as Mono Audio; on Mac, Balance in System Settings > Sound > Output; on Windows 11, open your output device in Settings > System > Sound and make the left and right channel volumes match; on Android, again under Accessibility.
Spatial audio and sound effects
Spatial audio, virtual surround (such as Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos) and the sound effects in headphone apps all mix some of one side into the other. Turn them off while you judge left and right.
Bluetooth headsets in call mode
While another app is on a call or in a meeting, a Bluetooth headset is often switched to its call mode: the sound turns mono and duller, and left and right can no longer be told apart. End the call or close that app, then test again. If the same headset appears twice in the Windows output list, pick the entry with Stereo in its name, not the one with Hands-Free. This page never uses the microphone.
