Your microphone must be on and recording throughout the test so it can be properly scored and reviewed. If at any point your microphone turns off or your test audio becomes corrupted, your test will be invalidated.
If you received a message that your microphone did not work during the test, please follow these steps before testing again:
- Ensure your microphone is enabled for the Duolingo English Test desktop app.
- Close all other programs running on your computer.
- Make sure you are on an internet connection with at least 2 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed. We recommend using a stable, wired ethernet internet connection instead of using Wi-Fi or mobile hotspot services. You can type “internet speed test” into most search engines and find a quick and free way to test your speed.
- Ask anyone else using your same internet network to disconnect while you are taking the test, and disconnect all other devices connected to your internet network.
- Try to take the test late at night or early in the morning, during off-peak network times.
- If you are in China and using a VPN, try re-downloading the desktop app from englishtest.duolingo.com instead of englishtest.duolingo.cn.
During test setup, you are asked to record some audio and play it back for yourself. This is to ensure your microphone is working properly. Please make sure you can clearly hear your audio recording during this setup stage.