System compatibility check. Ten checks, one verdict.
The whole package in one run: browser and device, webcam with a test picture, microphone, speakers, internet speed, screen and screen sharing, location permission, browser settings and battery. Each ends in a plain verdict with what to fix, and the result can be saved, printed or emailed.
10 checks · about 5 minutes
- Browser and system
- Device info
- Webcam
- Microphone
- Speakers
- Internet
- Screen
- Location
- Browser settings
- Battery
One check after another, with your progress along the top and a plain verdict on each. Nothing you show the camera or say into the microphone leaves this page.
In short
System compatibility check: the answer first
A system compatibility check tells you whether this computer, in this browser, can run a proctored exam, an interview or a call. It runs ten checks in one sitting, from the browser version to the webcam, microphone, upload speed, screen sharing and settings, and gives each a plain verdict with the fix.
Reading your result
- Every line is a verdict, not a score
- Each check passes, warns or fails on its own. A single failed line, such as a refused camera permission, is the thing to fix; the rest can be ignored.
- Upload matters more than download
- A proctored session streams your camera the whole time, so the upload figure against the common minimums is the one to watch.
- Your platform may be stricter
- The lines here are the common ones across vendors. If your platform publishes a stricter one, theirs wins.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
In the order the checks run.
- Browser and device
- Browser and version against vendors' supported lists, the operating system, cores, memory, graphics chip and screen, in a card you can send to a help desk.
- Webcam, with a test picture
- The live picture, the resolution of the stream the browser opened, the frame rate counted from the frames that arrive, the light level, and a picture you can look at the way a proctor would. It stays on this page.
- Microphone and speakers
- A level meter, a clip to play back, the room's background noise, and a left and right tone.
- Internet
- Latency, jitter, download and upload over parallel streams, against the 1.5 to 3 Mbps most platforms require. Upload is the figure a proctored session depends on.
- Screen and sharing
- The panel's resolution and the display scaling, a second display where the browser can tell, and a screen sharing test that closes at once.
- Location, settings and battery
- Whether the browser can produce a location (the position is discarded), cookies, storage and pop-ups, and the charge level where the browser shares it.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- A permission was refused
- Click the camera, microphone or location icon in the address bar and choose Allow, then run the check again. The browser must also be allowed in the system's privacy settings; the path for your device is shown under the fixes on this page.
- The internet check is close to the limit
- Use a cable, move nearer the router, pause other devices and turn off any VPN. Keep a phone hotspot ready as a backup.
- A second display or a refused share
- Disconnect the other display before the session, and choose Entire screen when the share is asked for. On a Mac, grant Screen Recording in the system settings and restart the browser; on a phone, screen sharing is done by the meeting app, not the browser.
- Cookies or pop-ups are blocked
- Allow both for the platform's site, and use a normal window rather than a private one for the session.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- Your platform's exact rules. The bands here are the common ones across exam vendors and call platforms; a stricter requirement is on their page.
- Anything that must be installed. A lockdown browser or a vendor app cannot be seen or installed from a web page.
- The room, the desk and who else is in it. Only a person can judge that.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
System compatibility check, answered
- What is a system compatibility check?
- A run through everything an online exam, interview or call platform needs from your computer: a supported browser, a working webcam and microphone, speakers, a connection fast and steady enough, a single screen that can be shared, and permissions and settings the platform relies on. This one runs all of it in the browser and explains any failure.
- Is this the same as my exam provider's compatibility check?
- It checks the same things against the common requirements, so it finds most problems in advance, and it explains what to fix, which a provider's check usually does not. Run the provider's own check too, because some need an installed app that no web page can see.
- Does the test picture get uploaded?
- No. The snapshot is drawn on this page so you can see what a proctor would see, and it is discarded when you leave. Nothing from the camera or microphone is sent anywhere.
- Can I send the result to someone?
- Yes. The result card can be saved as a PDF, printed, or emailed to yourself, an IT desk or a test centre. Nothing else is stored.
- How long does it take?
- About four minutes. Checks that need nothing from you run on their own; the ones that need a permission wait for one click.
- Can I send the result to a help desk?
- Yes. The result can be saved, printed or emailed, and the browser and device card lists what a help desk usually asks for.
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