Forum Discussion
Windows 11 Why is my microphone so quiet in calls?
My built-in mic is really quiet on Windows 11 even at max volume. Friends say they can barely hear me. I tried settings but nothing helps.
3 Replies
Is it quiet in recordings too, or only during calls? Try recording a short sentence in Windows Sound Recorder, then compare it with a browser recording on https://www.testmic.net/. Select the same built-in microphone for both and keep your speaking distance unchanged. If recordings sound fine but calls are quiet, check the calling app's selected microphone and any automatic volume or noise-suppression settings. Browser and app processing can differ, so treat this as a comparison rather than proof the hardware is fine. Which calling app and laptop model are you using?
In Settings > System > Sound > Microphone, tap Start Test and increase the microphone boost level.
A quiet microphone on Windows 11 is a frustrating problem, but it's almost always fixable with a few specific adjustments. The issue often isn't that your mic is broken—it's that Windows isn't giving it enough "gain" (a volume boost).
