Sound Test

Check your speakers or headphones, and make sure left and right aren't swapped.

  1. Turn your volume down a little first.
  2. Press Left, Both or Right.
  3. The tone should come only from the side you picked.

Pick a channel to play a 1.5-second tone.

Protect your ears

Tones can sound louder than music at the same volume, especially in headphones. Start low and turn up slowly.

How the sound test works

Each button plays a short tone through your browser and sends it only to the left channel, only to the right, or to both. If you hear the tone from the wrong side, your headphones are on backwards or the speaker cables are swapped. If one side is silent, that speaker, earbud or cable may be faulty.

The bass and treble tones are a quick way to check a speaker's range: small laptop speakers often can't play 100 Hz, and damaged tweeters may not play 8 kHz.

No sound at all?

  1. Unmute and raise the volume on your computer, and check the browser tab isn't muted.
  2. Choose the right output. On Windows, click the speaker icon in the taskbar; on macOS, open System Settings › Sound › Output.
  3. Check Bluetooth. Make sure your headphones are connected to this device and not still paired with your phone.
  4. Re-plug wired headphones fully into the headphone (often green) socket.
  5. Reload the page. Some browsers only allow sound after you've clicked on the page.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I hear the left tone in both ears?

Mono audio is probably on. Turn it off under Settings › Accessibility › Audio on Windows, or System Settings › Accessibility › Audio on macOS.

Can I test surround sound here?

Not yet. This test covers stereo left and right only.