My PTE microphone stopped working during the exam — what should I do?

Raise your hand immediately and tell the test administrator. Do not try to adjust the headset yourself and do not push on hoping it sorts itself out — an incident logged at the centre while you are still in the room is the evidence every later claim depends on. If you have already left, contact Pearson customer service as soon as you can and describe what happened and roughly when.

In the room

Stop and signal. The administrator can note the fault and check the equipment. Even if nothing can be fixed for that item, the incident report exists.

Without that log, you are asking Pearson weeks later to take your word for a hardware failure they have no record of. With it, you are asking them to look at something their own staff wrote down.

After the test: the technical review

If you believe your Speaking score specifically was affected, you can request a technical review. It costs USD 50 and must be requested within 15 business days of receiving your results — confirm both figures against the official Pearson guidance before you pay, as fees and windows can change.

The review checks your audio recordings for technical issues that may have caused an inaccurate score.

What it will not do

A technical review does not re-mark you. It is not a re-mark request, and it is not a second opinion on whether the AI judged your pronunciation fairly. It answers one question: was there a technical problem?

So if your audio recorded fine and you simply scored lower than you expected, this is the wrong process and you will lose the fee.

Refunds and free retests

Pearson does publish the technical review outcome: if it finds technical issues in your audio, your test fee is refunded (or a free credit voucher if you booked with a voucher) along with the technical review fee. A free retest outside that process is not documented policy — it is not an automatic entitlement.

Practically: log it in the room, request the review inside the window, keep your booking reference and any incident number, and keep your written account short and factual — which item, what you saw or heard, what the administrator did. Vague, emotional complaints get slower answers than a three-line timeline.

PTE AI is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Pearson. PTE Academic is a trademark of Pearson. All practice material here is original and written for this site.