Does getUserMedia NotAllowedError mean my microphone is broken?

No. NotAllowedError signals an access restriction, not a hardware diagnosis. User denial or a microphone Permissions Policy restriction can cause it. Check those conditions before buying another microphone.

Use the error as a starting point

• NotAllowedError: inspect permission and policy restrictions.
• NotFoundError: check whether a suitable requested input exists.
• NotReadableError: access failed despite permission; investigate the device, operating system and browser.
• OverconstrainedError: inspect the requested constraints rather than assuming a general permission failure.

Also check whether the document is a secure context. An unavailable navigator.mediaDevices is a different failure path from a rejected permission request. Error names narrow the investigation; they do not uniquely identify the cause.

Practical boundary

Record the error name and whether the page is embedded. Give that information to the application maintainer; avoid repeatedly changing unrelated settings. This page is a diagnostic guide, not a microphone test.

Sources and scope

W3C: Media Capture and Streams; MDN: getUserMedia exceptions.

Documentation synthesis reviewed September 28, 2026. No hands-on testing was performed.