Microsoft Teams microphone test
Teams has the best built-in microphone check of any conferencing application — a real call to a bot that records you and plays it back. Here is how to use it, and what to do when it is not available.
- No signup
- Works before you join
- Nothing uploaded
Check your microphone
Your browser will ask for permission. Speak a full sentence at your normal volume — tapping the microphone tells you nothing useful.
Audio is analysed on your device. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is stored.
The microphone is not available
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Start with the browser test, then use Teams' test call
The tool above establishes that your microphone reaches an application on this machine at a workable level. That takes ten seconds and rules out the hardware, the driver and the operating system permission in one go.
Teams then offers something no other conferencing application does: a genuine test call. It places a real call to a Microsoft bot which asks you to record a message, plays it back, and reports on your audio quality. Because it goes through Teams' full pipeline and out to Microsoft's service and back, it tests the whole path rather than just the microphone — including the network leg, which a local test cannot touch.
Running the Teams test call
- 1
Open device settings
Click your profile picture at the top right, then Settings, then Devices. On the new Teams client the same panel is reached with the three-dot menu → Settings → Devices.
- 2
Choose the right speaker and microphone
The Audio devices dropdown offers a paired choice, or you can set the speaker and the microphone independently below it. Teams stores this selection itself; it does not follow the Windows default unless you explicitly choose the default device.
- 3
Press Make a test call
Teams dials a bot. Follow the prompt, record a short message, and wait for the playback. When it ends, Teams shows a summary of your microphone, speaker, camera and network. This is the definitive check — if it passes, the problem is not on your end of the call.
- 4
Use the pre-join screen for a quick check
Clicking a meeting link takes you to a pre-join screen with a microphone toggle and a small level indicator. It is not as thorough as the test call, but it shows the selected device and confirms audio is arriving, which is enough when you are already late.
- 5
Check who muted you
Teams has your own mute, a hardware mute on many headsets, and a meeting-level hard mute an organiser can apply. Under hard mute, the toolbar shows you muted and unmuting does nothing until the organiser allows it. In a webinar or town hall, attendees have no microphone at all by design.
Why Make a test call is sometimes missing
The button is not always there, and its absence has nothing to do with your microphone.
In the Teams web client, running in a browser rather than the desktop application, the test call is unavailable. Use the pre-join screen or the browser test above instead.
In some tenants an administrator has restricted the feature through policy, usually as part of a broader restriction on outbound calling. That is a decision made centrally and cannot be changed from your settings panel.
It can also be greyed out while you are already in a call or a meeting, because the audio device is in use. Leave the meeting first.
Finally, some regulated tenants disable the bot entirely because a test call is technically an outbound call to a Microsoft service. If yours is one of them, the desktop client's Devices panel still shows a live level meter beside the microphone selector, which covers most of what the test call would have told you.
The Teams device settings that matter
| Noise suppression | Settings → Devices → Noise suppression. Auto is the default. High uses a machine-learning model that removes almost everything except speech, at the cost of some CPU and of the quieter edges of a soft voice. Low removes steady background hum only, and is the right choice if people say you cut out. Off is required if you want music to pass through. |
|---|---|
| Automatically adjust mic sensitivity | On by default in recent builds. Like Zoom's equivalent, it rides your gain according to what it believes is speech. If your level swings, turn it off and set the Windows input level so normal speech peaks around three-quarters. |
| Secondary ringer | Lets incoming calls ring on a device other than your headset — usually the laptop speakers, so you hear a call when the headset is off your head. It does not affect your microphone, but it is often mistaken for an audio problem when calls appear to arrive silently. |
| Spatial audio | Positions each participant's voice in a stereo field. It requires stereo output and is disabled on Bluetooth headsets in hands-free mode. It affects what you hear, not what you send. |
| High fidelity music mode | Under Settings → Devices → Advanced. Disables noise suppression, echo cancellation and auto gain in favour of a wide-band signal. The correct setting for a music lesson and the wrong one for a laptop microphone in an office. |
Teams-specific problems and what causes them
- Bluetooth headset sounds terrible only in Teams. Windows switches a Bluetooth headset to the hands-free profile the moment a microphone is opened, which drops the audio quality dramatically in both directions. It is a Windows and Bluetooth limitation rather than a Teams one. Using the headset's USB dongle, or a wired headset, avoids it.
- Teams grabs the microphone from everything else. The desktop client opens its audio devices when it starts, not when you join a call. If a browser test worked before Teams launched and fails afterwards, that is why. Quitting Teams releases the device.
- New Teams and classic Teams keep separate settings. Machines that have been migrated often have both installed, with different device selections. Confirm which one you are actually in — the new client has a rounded, lighter interface and a three-dot settings menu.
- Virtual audio devices break the selector. Voice changers, streaming mixers and virtual cable drivers insert themselves into the device list and are easy to select by accident. If a device you do not recognise is chosen, that is almost certainly the problem.
- Windows privacy settings sit above Teams. Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone must allow desktop applications generally, and Teams specifically. If that is off, Teams shows no error — the level meter simply never moves.
Calling a telephone number from Teams, and the cheaper alternative
Teams can call ordinary phone numbers, but only with Microsoft Teams Phone: a licence added on top of Microsoft 365, plus either a Microsoft calling plan or a direct routing arrangement with a carrier. Without it, the dial pad does not appear and Teams reaches Teams users only.
For an organisation that already runs its telephony through Microsoft, that is the right architecture. For an individual who needs to call one landline abroad, it is an expensive way to make a phone call, and the licence is billed monthly whether or not the call happens.
Telvio is the other shape of answer: an app that dials landline and mobile numbers in over 200 countries over whatever internet connection you have, billed per second from your credit, with no subscription and no account required. The person you call needs nothing installed — it arrives as an ordinary telephone call.
The microphone advice on this page transfers directly. What does not transfer is the noise suppression: a telephone call carries a narrower frequency band and does not run Teams' processing, so a close microphone and a quiet room matter more than any setting.
Bottom line
The best microphone test for Teams is Teams' own: Settings → Devices → Make a test call. It records you, plays it back and reports on the microphone, speaker and network, which is more than any local test can do. It is unavailable in the web client and can be disabled by tenant policy.
If the test call passes and people still cannot hear you, check that Automatically adjust mic sensitivity is not swinging your level, that noise suppression is not set to High over a quiet voice, and that you are not on a Bluetooth headset in hands-free mode — which degrades audio in both directions and only during calls.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test my microphone in Microsoft Teams?
Open Settings from your profile picture, choose Devices, and press Make a test call. Teams dials a bot that records a short message and plays it back, then reports on your microphone, speaker, camera and network. It is the most complete check available because it exercises the whole call path, not just the local device.
Why is Make a test call greyed out or missing in Teams?
It is unavailable in the Teams web client, can be disabled by an administrator's calling policy, and is greyed out while you are already in a call. In those cases use the level meter in Settings → Devices, or the pre-join screen that appears when you open a meeting link.
Why does my Bluetooth headset sound bad only in Teams?
Because opening the microphone forces Windows to switch the headset from a high-quality playback profile to the low-bandwidth hands-free profile, which degrades both directions. It happens in any application that opens the microphone; Teams is simply where most people notice it. A wired headset or the manufacturer's USB dongle avoids it.
Should I turn off noise suppression in Teams?
Set it to Low rather than off if people say you cut out. On High, Teams uses a model that removes everything it does not classify as speech, and a quiet voice loses its quieter parts along with the background. Off is only appropriate when you want music or non-speech audio to pass through.
Why did my browser microphone test stop working after opening Teams?
The Teams desktop client opens its audio devices when it launches, not when you join a call, and on Windows that can leave other applications with silence. Quitting Teams releases the device. It is also the reason a browser test should be closed before you join a Teams meeting.
Can Microsoft Teams call a normal phone number?
Only with a Teams Phone licence plus a Microsoft calling plan or direct routing through a carrier. Without that add-on the dial pad is absent and Teams reaches other Teams users only. For a one-off international call to a landline or mobile, a dedicated calling app is far cheaper than a monthly telephony licence.
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