Headphone Test

What You Can Test With This Tool

• Left & right channel check — Play audio in just the left or right ear to make sure both drivers are working. You'd be surprised how often one side is slightly off.

• Center balance test — Plays sound through both ears equally so you can tell if the audio feels centered and balanced, not drifting to one side.

• Stereo ping-pong — Sound bounces back and forth between left and right. Great for checking how well your headphones separate the two channels.

• 3D spatial audio — Tests whether your headphones can create a sense of direction and depth — really useful if you use them for gaming or mixing music.

• Full frequency sweep — Runs a tone from the lowest bass all the way up to the highest treble. You can hear exactly which frequencies your headphones handle well and where they roll off.

Why Are My Headphones Not Working?

Before blaming the headphones, it's almost always something else. A loose jack, a muted tab, a wrong output selected — these catch people out all the time. And if you're on wireless or Bluetooth, there's a whole extra layer of things that can go sideways. Run our headphone test above first to confirm whether audio is actually coming through, then work through the list below.

• Wrong output device selected — Your computer might be sending audio to speakers or another device instead of your headphones. Open your sound settings and set your headphones as the default playback device.

• Volume muted or very low — Check your system volume, the app volume, and the inline remote on the cable if you have one. Any one of these being muted is enough to make the headphones go silent.

• 3.5mm jack not fully inserted — A wired jack that is 90% in won't work right — you might get audio in one ear only or nothing. Push it in firmly and give it a gentle wiggle to seat it properly.

• Bluetooth headphones not set as active output — Wireless headphones can show as connected in Bluetooth settings but still not be chosen as the audio output. Disconnect and reconnect, then check your sound settings to confirm they are the selected device.

• Bluetooth range or interference issue — Most Bluetooth headphones work well up to about 10 metres, but walls, other wireless devices, and even microwave ovens can cut that range down a lot. Move closer to your device and see if it helps.

• Battery drained on wireless headphones — Low battery is one of the most common reasons wireless headphones cut out or go quiet without warning. Charge them up fully and run the test again.

• Outdated or broken audio driver — On Windows, an audio driver that went wrong after a system update can stop headphones working altogether. Open Device Manager and check for any warnings on your audio device.