Plug and Check

Sound tools

Tone Generator: Play Any Frequency

Play a sine, square, triangle or sawtooth tone from 1 Hz to 22 kHz, in one ear or both, or sweep a range. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Runs in your browser. Your settings and results never leave this device. No upload, no sign-up.

Turn your volume down first. Tones start at 20% of full scale. Raise the volume slowly: high and very low tones can hurt your ears and small speakers before they sound loud.

Frequency

440Hz

A4, 0 cents

Wave

Channel

Presets

Sweep

Scale

Press Play tone or Start sweep.

Keyboard: Space plays and stops. ← → change the frequency by 1 Hz, or to the next note with Shift. ↑ ↓ change the volume.

Your report

Run the test above. Your results will appear here as plain text you can paste into a support chat, a return request or a forum post.

How to use the tone generator

  1. Turn your computer's volume down, then press Play tone. You hear a 440 Hz sine wave at 20% of full scale.
  2. Drag the slider or type a frequency. The display shows the nearest musical note and how many cents the tone is above (+) or below (-) it.
  3. Pick a wave shape, and choose Left, Both or Right to play the tone in one channel or both.
  4. To sweep, set where it starts and ends and how long it lasts, then press Start sweep. Stop it at any point and the frequency stays where the sweep got to.
  5. Copy the report for a record of your sound output's sample rate and the last tone you played.

What a tone generator is good for

To find the highest and lowest tones you can hear, the hearing range check steps through the range for you.

Wave shapes and loudness

A sine wave is a single frequency, the purest tone you can play. A square wave adds odd harmonics, at 3, 5 and 7 times the frequency, and sounds hollow and buzzy. A triangle wave has the same harmonics but much weaker, so it sounds close to a sine. A sawtooth has every harmonic and sounds bright and brassy.

At the same volume setting, square and sawtooth waves sound louder than a sine, so turn the volume down before you switch. High tones lose their shape: the harmonics would be higher than your sound card can play, so only the main frequency is left. Square and triangle waves turn into a plain sine from about 7 to 8 kHz, and a sawtooth from about 11 to 12 kHz.

Linear or logarithmic sweeps

A logarithmic sweep spends the same time on every octave, which matches how you hear pitch: 20 to 40 Hz takes as long as 10 to 20 kHz. A linear sweep moves the same number of hertz each second, so a 10-second sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz passes the whole bass and midrange in its first second. Use logarithmic sweeps to check speakers and linear ones to look closely at a narrow range.

The volume shows as a percentage of full scale and in dBFS, decibels relative to full scale, the strongest signal your sound output can play. 20% is about -14 dBFS. How loud that is depends on your system volume and your speakers, so no web page can tell you the actual loudness in your ears.

No sound or the wrong sound? Try these fixes

Nothing plays when you press Play tone

The tone goes to your system's default sound output. The output, your browser or this tab may be muted or turned down.

  1. Look for a crossed-out speaker on this browser tab. In Chrome, Edge and Firefox, right-click the tab and unmute it.
  2. Turn your system volume up a little, then try the 1 kHz preset, which is easy to hear on any speaker.

Windows 11

  1. Open Settings → System → Sound and choose your speakers or headphones under Output.
  2. In the same page, open Volume mixer and check that your browser isn't muted or turned down.

macOS

  1. Open System Settings → Sound and choose the right device under Output.
  2. Check that the Output volume isn't at zero and Mute is off.

On an iPhone or iPad, silent mode can mute sound from web pages. Turn it off, or use headphones.

The tone buzzes, crackles or rattles

Small speakers distort when pushed, and loose objects near a speaker vibrate at certain frequencies.

  1. Lower the volume and listen again. If the buzz goes away, the speaker was overloaded.
  2. Sweep slowly through the range where it happens to find the exact frequency, then touch nearby objects one at a time to find the one that rattles.

Laptop and phone speakers can't play deep bass. At very low frequencies you mostly hear distortion, not the tone itself.

Only one side plays, or left and right are swapped

Check the Channel setting above first. After that, the balance or a mono audio setting in your system can move or merge the channels.

Windows 11

  1. Open Settings → System → Sound, select your output device, and check that the left and right channel levels in its properties match.
  2. Open Settings → Accessibility → Audio and turn off Mono audio.

macOS

  1. Open System Settings → Sound, choose your output device and center the Balance slider.
  2. Open System Settings → Accessibility → Audio and turn off Play stereo audio as mono.

With headphones, check that the left cup (often marked L) is on your left ear.

High or low tones are silent

Every speaker and headphone has a range it can play. Bluetooth connections can cut the highest frequencies, and a low sample rate limits the highest tone.

  1. Try wired headphones to rule out your speakers and Bluetooth.
  2. Check the report: the highest tone your sound output can play is half its sample rate.
  3. If the report shows a low sample rate such as 16,000 Hz, your Bluetooth headset may be in call (hands-free) mode. Close other apps that use its microphone, or choose its stereo output in your sound settings.

Common questions

What frequency is the note A4?

A4, the A above middle C, is 440 Hz. It is the standard tuning pitch for most music and the tone this page starts with. Each octave doubles the frequency, so A5 is 880 Hz and A3 is 220 Hz.

Can a tone generator damage my speakers or my hearing?

Yes, if the volume is high. A loud steady tone can damage small speakers and tweeters, and loud sound of any pitch can damage your hearing. Start with your system volume low, keep this page near its 20% starting volume, and turn up slowly.

Why can't I hear the highest tones?

The highest pitches are the first to fade as people get older, so many adults don't hear the top of this range. Your speakers, your headphones or a Bluetooth connection may also cut those tones off before they reach you. Try wired headphones, or use the hearing range check for a step-by-step test.

Can this page make ultrasonic sounds or a dog whistle?

No. A sound card can only play frequencies up to half its sample rate, which is 22.05 kHz at 44,100 Hz and 24 kHz at 48,000 Hz, so this page stops at 22 kHz. Dog whistles mostly work above that range.

What is the difference between sine, square, triangle and sawtooth waves?

A sine wave is a pure tone with a single frequency. Square and triangle waves add odd harmonics (3, 5, 7 times the frequency and so on): the square sounds hollow and buzzy, the triangle softer. A sawtooth adds every harmonic and sounds brightest, and square and sawtooth waves sound louder than a sine at the same volume setting.

How do I test a subwoofer with a tone generator?

Choose a sine wave at low volume and sweep from 120 Hz down to 20 Hz over 20 seconds, or step through the bass presets. Where the sound fades out is roughly the lowest note your system plays well. A buzz or rattle at one frequency usually means something nearby is loose.

Does the tone generator work on a phone?

Yes, in current mobile browsers. On an iPhone, check the Ring/Silent switch or the Action button first, because silent mode can mute sound from web pages. Phone speakers play very little bass, so use headphones for low tones.

Something not right?

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