Windows Microphone Settings: How to Test and Hear Yourself

You can also hear yourself on mic in Windows 10. This can be useful in testing your microphone or speakers. This setup can also be used to amplify your voice to reach a larger audience in the room even if you’re speaking slowly.

You can also use the headphone jacks on your computer to play audio from another device, listen to it from the built-in speakers, and also connect external speakers and listen through it.

Many users aren’t aware of this feature. This feature is available in Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

How to hear yourself on mic in Windows 10

Listening to oneself through a speaker can help you with a speech, and how you may sound like to others. More importantly, it is a quick and easy method to check if your microphone and your speakers are working or not.

Here is how you can use the PC’s built-in hardware to hear yourself through the mic.

1. Disconnect any external audio devices such as speakers and headphones.
2. Now open the Sound settings by any of the following methods:
   • Method 1: Type in the following in Run.
     rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,1
     
   • Method 2: Right-click the Speakers icon in the Taskbar and then click Sound.
     
   • Method 3: Open the Control Panel and then click Sound. Remember to View by: icons.
     
3. Now that the Sound window is open, switch to the Recording tab and double-click the microphone that has been set to default (Marked with a tick).
   
4. On the Microphone Properties window, switch to the Listen tab and check the box next to Listen to this device. Also, select Default playback device from the drop-down menu under Playback through this device.
   
   Click on Apply and Ok when done.

You should now be able to hear the jitter that your microphone is picking up. You can also speak into the microphone to listen to your own voice through the system speakers.

The same method can be applied if you are using headphones, and want to listen to your voice through the headset using its mic. The only difference would be that Windows would have automatically selected the headphones as its default audio device, and you would be setting them up, rather than the built-in system speakers.

How to play music from an external audio device on PC speakers in Windows 10

Do you not have a playlist on your PC? No problem! You can connect an external audio device, such as your phone, iPod, and mp3 player, and listen to your songs through the PC speakers. This, however, is only possible if your device has two separate 3.5mm headphone jacks, one for mic and one for speakers, like the ones in the image below.

This will also require an auxiliary (aux) cable. An aux cable is a male-to-male audio-playing cable that is inserted into the 3.5 mm audio jack.

Here is how you can listen to audio from an external device on your system’s speakers.

1. Connect an external device via an auxiliary cable into the system’s microphone hack.
2. Now open the Sound settings as discussed earlier in the article.
3. Double-click the default microphone in the Recording tab.
   
4. Switch to the Listen tab, check the box next to Listen to this device, and select Default playback device under Playback through this device.
   
   Click on Apply and Ok when done.

Note that the steps are identical to listening to your own voice through a microphone or playing audio from an external device. This is because the logic behind both is the same, and only the input devices are different.

Similarly, you can use your computer running Windows 10 to play audio to external speakers by plugging them into the 3.5 mm speaker jack. This way, the computer would only act as an intermittent device connecting both the audio (external player or mic) source and its playback device (the speakers).

How to stop hearing your own voice on the microphone

If you are on a virtual call and hear your own voice playing back through the speakers/headset, it is probably because the sound setting configuration needs to be changed.

Follow the steps below to revert to the settings or stop hearing your own voice through the microphone.

1. Open the Sound properties, switch to the Recording tab, and then double-click the microphone that has been set to default (marked with a tick).
   
2. In the Microphone Properties window, switch to the Listen tab and uncheck the box next to Listen to this device.
   
   Then click on Apply and Ok to save the changes.

Closing words

The steps included in turning on and off the playback for your own microphone might be small, but its advantages are big. People can use this small utility in Windows 10 to listen, prepare, and improve their speeches by listening to them themselves. It will let them know how they sound on speakers and how they can make an effort to make it better before the actual event.

In the case of laptops, it also acts as loud, portable speaker to play sounds right off your iPod or mp3 player. Moreover, if you do not have Skype on your computer to test your input and output audio devices, you can use this trick to check them directly from the OS.