What's the most common cause of bad video-call quality?

Bufferbloat. Your raw download speed can be excellent, but ping spikes badly under load — which is exactly what video calls do. The bufferbloat test surfaces this in 15 seconds.

Why am I told 'your mic sounds bad' even though it's a good mic?

Most often a high noise floor — a fan, AC, or open window adds background hiss that other participants find fatiguing. The mic noise probe quantifies it. Aim for < -50 dBFS.

Wizard / W07

Pre-meeting tech check.

90 seconds. We test the bandwidth and latency that determine call quality, probe your mic's noise floor, and check your screen refresh — all automatic.

Notes

The mic noise floor test requires browser microphone permission. If you decline, it becomes a manual follow-up in the report.

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Manual follow-ups browser cannot measure

Webcam preview

Open /webcam/preview. Check framing (eyes at top third), lighting (key light in front, not behind), and resolution (1080p if possible). Most laptops default to 720p — bump it in Zoom / Teams settings.
Speaker stereo

Open /audio/stereo. Confirm L/R aren't swapped and both channels play at equal volume. Headphone use is recommended for calls — eliminates the echo cancellation that softens your own voice.
Background noise audit

Listen to your room for 30 seconds with the mic muted. AC humming, mechanical keyboard typing, kids in another room — these all carry on calls. Move or mute strategically.
Close anything that uploads

Cloud backup, Dropbox, OneDrive sync, photo backup — all eat upload bandwidth your call needs. Pause sync during meetings.

Report