Can I test my AirPods with this headphone test?
Yes. Connect your AirPods to your device, make sure they are set as the active output device, and run the test normally. You will see exactly how your AirPods are performing on both sides.
No permission needed · starts instantly
Test your headphones in 10 seconds
We play a tone in each ear. You tell us what you heard.
Turn your headphones down before you start. You raise this — we never raise it for you.
Two questions · about 10 seconds
What we check
Both ears working, and the sides not reversed. That is the whole answer for almost everyone. Bass and treble are optional afterwards.
Why we ask instead of score
A browser can play sound but it cannot hear it. Only you know what reached your ears, so you give the verdict.
Before we start
Can you hear a soft tone?
Quiet on purpose. If you can hear it at all, that is the right answer.
30%
If you just turned your volume up because you could not hear anything, turn it back down before the bass test. A low tone at full volume is loud enough to hurt.
Nothing advances until you answer.
✓
Test complete · you confirmed both ears
Your headphones are working. Both ears, correct sides.
Nothing is wrong with them. If you still sound bad on calls, that is your microphone, not these.
✓
Left ear
You heard it
✓
Right ear
You heard it
✓
Correct sides
Not reversed
–
Bass & treble
Optional, below
Why there is no score out of 100
Your browser can play sound but it cannot hear it. There is no return path from your headphones to this page, so any site that grades your bass or your stereo balance is grading the file it sent, not what reached your ears — and it would pass a pair with one wire cut. We ask you instead, which is why the result above says what you confirmed.
Optional: how they sound
Not a grade. Two things you can listen for, with what is normal.
Bass — can you feel a low tone?
Plays around 70 Hz. Small earbuds and in-ear monitors roll off below this by design, so faint bass on earbuds is normal and not a fault. Over-ear headphones should feel it clearly.
Treble — tell us when it disappears
A rising sweep. Press stop when you stop hearing it. Most adults lose everything above 15–16 kHz and the ceiling drops with age — so a silent top end is almost always your ears, not your headphones.
— kHz
Check your mic before every call, in one click
Add the free Chrome extension or install the Windows app.
!
Both drivers work — the sides are crossed
Your left and right channels are reversed.
We sent that tone to one ear and you heard it in the other. Nothing is broken — the audio is arriving on the wrong side. Three causes, most likely first.
The headphones are on backwards
It is the first thing to rule out and it takes two seconds. Look for the L and R marks inside the headband or on the stems.
A detachable cable is in the wrong socket
On headphones with two jacks, swapping the ends reverses the channels. Swap them back and retest.
Your system has the channels crossed
Some audio drivers and virtual-surround tools invert left and right. Check the balance and spatial sound settings for your output device.
Once fixed, the left tone should be in your left ear only.
!
Both drivers work — you are hearing mono
Your audio is being played in mono.
We sent that tone to one ear and you heard it in both, so the left and right channels are being combined before they reach you. Your headphones are fine — something upstream is merging the channels. Three causes, most likely first.
A "mono audio" accessibility setting is switched on
This is the usual answer, and it is easy to enable by accident. Mac and iPhone put it under Accessibility → Audio; Windows calls it Mono audio under Accessibility → Audio.
One wireless bud is still in the case
Most earbuds drop to mono when only one is out, so the bud you are wearing plays both channels. Take both out and retest.
A headset adapter or dock is merging the channels
Some USB-C dongles, splitters and conference docks output mono. Plug the headphones straight into the computer and test again.
Once stereo is restored, the tone should move to one side only.
!
One driver is silent
Only one ear is working.
You heard one side but not the other. Before you blame the headphones, rule out these three — they cause most one-sided silence.
The plug is not fully in
A 3.5 mm plug pushed in halfway connects one channel only. Push it in firmly until it clicks, or try another port.
The balance slider is set to one side
Windows Sound settings and macOS Sound → Output both have a left/right balance. Set it back to the centre.
A bud is flat, or the cable is damaged
Charge both earbuds. On wired headphones, wiggle the cable near the plug while the tone plays — if the sound cuts in and out, the cable is the fault.
!
Probably not your headphones
No sound at all? Start with where it is playing.
Silence on both ears is far more often the computer than the headphones. Work down this list — most cases are the first two.
Your computer is playing to its own speakers
The most common cause by a wide margin. Set your headphones as the output device, not just plugged in.
System or tab volume is at zero
Check the system slider, and check this browser tab is not muted — a muted tab looks completely normal.
The jack is not seated
A 3.5 mm plug half in gives silence or one ear only. Push it firmly until it stops, and try a different port.
On Bluetooth?
Wireless earbuds fail differently and the order of causes changes.
Raise the test volume first if you need to.
!
Wireless earbuds · connected is not the same as playing
Bluetooth silent, or only one bud working?
Four causes, in the order they actually happen. None of them is a broken earbud.
One bud is still in the case
With one bud docked, most earbuds switch to mono and play everything in the ear you are wearing. Take both out and retest.
They are connected to your phone, not this computer
Earbuds hold several pairings and silently pick the last device. Check the Bluetooth menu on both and reconnect here.
One bud is out of battery
Buds drain unevenly, and a flat one stays paired while going silent. Put both in the case for a minute, then try again.
The pairing has gone stale
Forget the device, then pair it fresh. This clears most one-sided faults that survive the three steps above.