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Test your microphone before a long screen recording in Chrome

A two-minute check before a long screen recording in Chrome: permission, the right microphone, a moving level bar and a 30-second test clip you play back.

By Cheap Recorder ·

You are about to record a lesson, a demo or a long walkthrough. Before you do, test your microphone. It takes about two minutes, and it is the cheapest way to avoid finding out at minute 50 that nobody can hear you.

This guide walks through four checks in order: permission, device, level and a short test clip, then fixes. It uses Cheap Recorder, which runs in Google Chrome on macOS, Windows and Linux and saves the recording to a folder on your own computer.

Why you should test your microphone first

Most microphone problems are silent. The recording looks fine, the timer runs, and the file has no voice, or the wrong voice, or a thin one. You only learn this when you play it back.

Four boxes in a row: allow, tick, talk, play back
The four checks, in the order to do them.

The test is the same whether you are recording a lecture for students who missed class, a code review walkthrough or a course. The course recording guide gives the same advice: record 30 seconds first and play it back.

Check the permission and pick the right microphone

When the recorder opens, Chrome asks to use your microphone and camera. Allow both. The recorder then turns them on by itself.

If you said no by mistake, press Allow microphone and camera in the Microphone box. If that does not help, allow the microphone again in Chrome's site settings for the page and reload.

The Microphone tile also tells you what is wrong in words:

  • allow the microphone to record your voice means Chrome has no access yet.
  • no microphone found means Chrome cannot see one. Plug it in and press Rescan.
  • none selected means every microphone box is unticked.

Also look at the Start recording button. If it is greyed out, the words beside it give one reason at a time, such as choose a folder first or pick a microphone, a screen or a meeting tab. Fix that reason, then read the note again, because fixing one can bring up the next.

Pick the right input device

Open Change or add microphones and tick the microphone you actually speak into. A webcam, a monitor and a headset can each have their own entry, so the default is not always the one on your desk. After you plug something in, press Rescan. The recorder remembers your choice in this browser.

Each entry shows wired or bluetooth beside its name. If you see the warning Bluetooth microphone selected, read the note under it. A Bluetooth headset used as a microphone drops to a low-quality mode, so your voice can sound thin, like an old phone line. Use the headset to listen and a wired or USB microphone for your voice.

If your computer's sound settings send input somewhere else, fix that there too.

Set your input level and watch for clipping

Once you start a test, every ticked microphone gets a level bar that moves with its sound. Talk at the volume you will use for the whole session. The bar should move clearly when you speak and fall back when you stop.

The bar tells you the microphone is alive, not that the sound is good, so use your ears as well. Play the test back and listen for harsh, crackling peaks. If you hear them, lower the input level in your computer's sound settings or move a little further from the microphone, then test again.

There is also a setting under Options called Record the microphone untouched. It turns off echo, noise and volume correction.

  • Tick it for a studio microphone in a quiet room.
  • Leave it unticked for a laptop microphone, a noisy room or a call.

If a studio microphone sounds very quiet or pumps up and down, ticking it is the fix mentioned in the podcast guide.

Record a 30-second test clip and play it back

This is the step that matters most. Set the session up exactly as it will be, then record a short clip.

  1. Choose a folder under Where to save with Choose folder.... Chrome asks whether the page may edit files there. Allow it.
  2. Type a name in Name this recording, for example Mic test.
  3. Pick what to capture: whole screen, a window or a browser tab. Choosing one window or tab keeps other apps and private things out of the file.
  4. Check Live transcript under Options, and the language beside it. The menu goes back to its default every time the page opens.
  5. Press Start recording. Say a sentence, then something longer in your normal voice.
  6. Press Stop and finish. Play the clip from the card, or open the recording's folder and play the MP4.

Listen for your voice, the right volume, no echo, and any sound you meant to capture. If you only want to check the microphone on its own, switch off Record my webcam and pick no screen. The recorder then saves an M4A audio file, which is a quick way to test just the voice.

If the live transcript is on, the transcript is a second check. If it caught your words, the microphone is working. If the card says No transcript, Chrome heard no speech.

Fix common problems: no sound, echo, and low volume

No sound

  • If a level bar stays still while you talk, check the microphone's own mute switch and your computer's sound settings.
  • Check that the right microphone is ticked and that it does not say dropped out, which means it disconnected.
  • If you wanted the sound of a video or a page, that is a separate matter. Chrome only shares sound when you pick A browser tab and tick the tab-audio option in its sharing window. A shared window gives no sound, and on a Mac neither does a whole-screen share. Sound from other programs cannot be recorded this way, so play it in a Chrome tab if you can. The no sound in a screen recording guide covers this in detail.
Top of the Cheap Recorder guide on no sound in a screen recording
The no sound guide on cheaprecorder.com.

Echo or voices twice

  • Wear headphones, so other voices do not come out of your speakers and back into your microphone.
  • Leave Record the microphone untouched unticked for calls.
  • If you film a call's tab and also use Pick the call tab..., tick tab audio in one place only. Ticked in both, the other side goes in twice.

Low or thin volume

  • Move the microphone closer to your mouth. A headset or desk microphone beats a laptop's built-in one in a noisy room, and the transcript works better too.
  • Avoid a Bluetooth headset as the microphone.
  • Raise the input level in your system settings, then run the test again.

A worked example: a 90-minute workshop

Here is a made-up case. Dana is about to record a 90-minute workshop from her laptop with a USB microphone.

  1. She opens the recorder in Chrome and allows the microphone and camera.
  2. In Change or add microphones she ticks the USB microphone and unticks the laptop's own. She sees wired beside it.
  3. She names the recording Mic test, picks her workshop browser tab and starts. The level bar jumps when she speaks.
  4. She talks for 30 seconds, presses Stop and finish and plays the clip. Her voice is clear, but the card says No transcript.
  5. An empty transcript means Chrome heard no speech, so she checks the three things the guide names: Chrome may use her microphone, she is online, and the language menu is right. The menu shows a language she does not speak. She fixes it and tests again.
  6. The second clip has words in the transcript. She renames the next recording Workshop and starts the real one.

The test took three minutes. The workshop did not need a retake.

Pre-recording checklist for long sessions

  • Chrome is the browser. In Chrome, the recorder writes to your folder about once a second, so a long take does not fill your computer's memory.
  • You are online. There is no offline mode, and Start recording waits for the server. Once a recording is running, it keeps writing to your folder if the connection drops.
  • You have enough recorded minutes left. Open your name in the top right to see them. If they run out mid-recording, the recording stops.
  • The folder has free space, especially if you tick Also save every source separately, which writes extra files.
  • The microphone is ticked, shows a moving level bar, and is the right one.
  • Notifications are silenced and unneeded tabs and apps are closed, since anything on the shared screen ends up in the file.
  • You know not to press Chrome's own Stop sharing bar. It ends the recording. Use Stop and finish.
  • The 30-second test played back well.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a microphone test be?

Thirty seconds is enough. Say a few sentences at your normal volume, stop, and play the file back.

Do I need to pick the microphone every time?

No. The recorder remembers your microphone choice in this browser. The transcript language goes back to its default each time the page opens, so check it before every recording.

Why is the Start recording button greyed out?

The note beside it says why, such as choose a folder first or pick a microphone, a screen or a meeting tab. Fix the reason shown and read the note again.

Can I test just the microphone without a screen?

Yes. Switch off Record my webcam and pick no screen. The recorder saves an M4A audio file you can play back.

Get started

The free plan includes recording, live transcript and captions, and 12 hours of recording a month, with no card needed. Open the recorder in Chrome, run a 30-second test, and then record the real thing. If you want to compare tools first, see the comparison with Loom, Camtasia, Descript and Riverside.

Start recording on the free plan, and your files stay on your own disk.