Dog WhistleHow to Check a Silent Whistle in Chrome
Open the whistle page in Chrome, keep it visible, and press its playback control directly. Check that software gain is above zero and system volume is low but not muted. Try a brief 440 Hz steady tone. Silence at a high frequency does not prove the app has failed.
Begin with a direct playback action
Use the playback control on the page before investigating frequency settings. Browser audio playback rules can require a user action to start audio, as described in MDN’s browser audio reference. Merely opening the page is not a playback action. Check the selected control mode too. Hold mode needs continued pressure; releasing it ends the tone. Toggle mode changes playback state with a press. For this check, use a short deliberate press or hold and then stop. Avoid switching tabs during the attempt, because hiding the page stops its sound.
- Keep Chrome and the whistle page in view.
- Read the selected hold or toggle mode.
- Use the page control for the first attempt.
Separate volume from frequency
Inspect software gain before changing the system volume. A gain setting of zero is silent. The default is 10%, and the software ceiling is 25%. Neither value describes a measured sound level at your position. Set system volume low and keep the speaker away from ears. Next, choose 440 Hz and steady mode for a brief output check. This avoids relying on a high tone that the speaker may not reproduce. If this lower setting is also silent, stop and check the selected system output rather than repeatedly increasing volume.
- Confirm that the app gain is above zero.
- Check whether the system output is muted.
- Look for sound routed to connected headphones or another speaker.
Understand what a silent high setting means
A high frequency can be generated digitally without being reproduced by the speaker. In Chrome, try a brief steady tone at 440 Hz with nonzero software gain. The app does not measure their response. Its upper frequency limit is calculated from the actual AudioContext sample rate: multiply by 0.45 and round down to a whole number. Presets at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 18 kHz are capped at that limit. MDN documents the audio context sample rate separately from physical speaker performance. Read the current value after selecting a preset. Do not treat silence as a hearing test.
- A preset label is not a speaker specification.
- Use 100 Hz coarse steps when adjusting the setting.
- Do not increase loudness to chase an inaudible high tone.
Check stops and page availability
If sound began and then ended, consider what happened just before it stopped. Switching tabs, an audio interruption, or a reported device change stops playback. Return to the page and check the output before starting again. Browser device reporting is incomplete, so inspect the route yourself after a connection change. If the page does not load without internet access, reconnect and load it successfully. Offline use depends on an initial successful cache and browser conditions. A loaded page with silent audio needs the playback checks above; a missing offline page is a separate problem.
- Restart manually after checking an interruption.
- Use a single tone instead of spending a preset drill run.
- Stop the check if any sound causes discomfort.
- Load the page in Chrome and press the playback control while the tab stays visible.
- Check hold or toggle mode, then inspect app gain, system mute, and the selected output.
- Set a brief steady tone at 440 Hz with low system volume, and stop after the check.
- If silence continues, review output routing and interruptions before making another manual attempt.
Should I give the site microphone access?
The app uses no microphone. Its whistle is generated audio, so microphone access is not part of this check.
Why does the whistle stop when I open another tab?
The app stops when its tab becomes hidden. Return to it, review the controls, and start playback again.
Can the reaction feature confirm that Chrome produced the selected frequency?
No. Its four-second burst accepts reacted or noReaction and stores the last three dated results locally. Those entries are observations, not audio measurements.