Browsers and devices for RoomTone.

RoomTone is a website, not an app store install. It needs a current browser, HTTPS, and a microphone the operating system will share.

What “a modern browser” means here

The monitor uses the Web Audio API and getUserMedia. Current Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox on desktop and laptop class devices are the expected path. Internet Explorer is not. A browser so old that it has no media permissions UI will show an unsupported state instead of failing silently. Use the school-updated browser, not a kiosk wrapper that strips permissions.

JavaScript must stay on. If a content filter strips scripts on classroomnoise.live, you will see a shell without a working Start button. Allow the site the same way you allow other instructional tools that need a mic.

Chromebooks

Chromebooks are the most common classroom host. Use the built-in mic or a known-good USB mic. Check that the microphone is allowed for the user account, not just for the device. Shared logins sometimes inherit a blocked permission from the last session. If HDMI or USB-C to a projector changes the default audio device, confirm the input is still the Chromebook mic and not a display that has none.

Windows and macOS teacher laptops

These usually work in Chrome or Edge with no extra software. Watch for Bluetooth headsets that steal the input when they reconnect. Watch for privacy sliders in Windows Settings → Privacy → Microphone and in macOS System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. The browser cannot see a mic the OS has denied.

iPad and Safari

Safari on iPadOS can run the site. Fullscreen behavior and microphone prompts are stricter than on a Chromebook. After a denial, students or teachers must restore access in Safari settings. Screen mirroring to a TV adds a second failure point: some mirroring modes send image but complicate audio capture. Prefer mirroring video out while keeping the iPad as the mic, and test before the class sits down. The test-day guide is blunt: do not discover this during an exam.

• Use HTTPS. The production site is https://classroomnoise.live.
• Allow the microphone for this origin only; you do not need camera access.
• Keep the tab visible. Some mobile browsers throttle background tabs.
• If the tablet sleeps, press Start again after you wake it.

Phones as a last resort

A phone can drive the meter, but it is a poor classroom display and a poor mic placement. Students bump it, notifications interrupt, and the screen is too small to be the board. Use a phone only to test, or as the mic attached to a larger display you have already verified.

District filters and WebView shells

Some classroom tablets open websites inside a wrapper that is not a full browser. Those shells often break microphone permissions. Open the site in Chrome or Safari itself. If your filter blocks googletagmanager or pagead2 for ads and analytics, the monitor can still run; those scripts are not the audio engine. If the filter blocks the site's own JavaScript, it cannot.

Shared logins and after-school carts

A generic student login may have microphone disabled while the teacher login does not. Test with the account you will actually use during the period. Guest mode may also forget site permissions every time. If the cart forces guest profiles, expect to allow the mic more often, and leave that in the lid checklist.

Updates matter. A browser that has not been updated since last year can lose getUserMedia quirks or refuse permissions UI. You do not need the newest beta. You need the district-supported current stable. If IT pins an ancient browser for a different app, ask for Chrome or Edge on the presenting machine. RoomTone cannot polyfill a missing microphone API.

When you email support, send: OS, browser name and version, whether the permission prompt appeared, and whether an empty room already reads yellow. Do not send a classroom recording. We cannot use it, and you should not create it. The contact page exists for those hardware notes.

If the school uses a locked kiosk app that only opens one URL, confirm that getUserMedia is allowed in that kiosk. Many kiosk policies strip permissions “for safety” and then wonder why a microphone site fails. RoomTone needs a real browser with a real permission prompt. A poster of the homepage is not a workaround.

Offline periods after a successful load can still run the meter until you reload. If the filter drops mid-class, do not panic-refresh. Refreshing is when you need the network again. Finish the block, then fix connectivity. That is another reason not to put the only copy of your lesson inside the same tab as the game.