OET@Home and Secure Browser: Technical Checklist and Troubleshooting

The technical requirements are set by OET and Prometric, and they change. Before anything else, read the current user guide for your exact format on oet.com (OET@Home, or OET on Computer with Speaking at home) and the Speaking Platform user guide. This page summarises what OET and Prometric listed at the time of writing, so treat it as a checklist to compare against the official guide, not a replacement for it.

If you are not sure which format you booked, or whether your regulator accepts it, read OET on Computer vs Paper vs OET@Home first.

Run an internet speed test at the time of day you will sit the exam, because home connections slow down in the evening. Ask people in your home not to stream or download during your sitting.

1. Install the Secure Browser using the link in your booking confirmation email and open it once to confirm it launches. Do this days before, not on the morning of the test.
2. Run the system check that OET provides for your format, on the exact device and network you will use.
3. Update or restart your operating system early. Do not install updates the night before.
4. Close or pause everything else: VPNs, screen-sharing, remote-desktop tools, messaging apps, cloud backups and anything that records the screen. Security software and firewalls sometimes block the Secure Browser; if you changed settings to allow it, note exactly what you changed.
5. Test your microphone and speakers at normal speaking volume in the room you will use.
6. Prepare the room: a quiet, well-lit space, a clear desk, and your ID ready. Remove or cover notes, books, extra screens and anything the rules forbid.
7. Know your start time in your time zone and the check-in window in your booking email.

• Open the Secure Browser early. OET recommends at least 10 minutes before your slot for Speaking; for Listening, Reading and Writing the check-in begins with a final system check, so open the application well before your start time.
• Have your ID in hand for verification, and make sure it matches the name on your booking.
• Don’t force a restart repeatedly. If the ID check or session freezes, note the time and take a screenshot or photo of the screen before trying again, as evidence for support.

For the Speaking sub-test, practise in conditions as close to the real ones as you can: a headset, a timer and a quiet room. Our AI Speaking practice runs timed role-plays in the browser and is a good way to check that your microphone and room work.

If the Secure Browser freezes at the ID check or never starts, work through these in order, noting what you try:

1. Restart the device and relaunch the Secure Browser once.
2. Close background apps, including any VPN, remote-access or recording software, and check that no second monitor is attached.
3. Check permissions: on macOS, camera, microphone and screen-recording permissions for the Secure Browser; on Windows, camera and microphone privacy settings.
4. Switch networks (for example from Wi-Fi to a wired connection, or to a different network) to rule out a firewall or a poor connection.
5. Re-download the Secure Browser from the link in your booking email in case your copy is out of date.
6. Try another supported device that meets the requirements.

If it still fails, contact OET support straight away, during the sitting if possible, and then in writing. Give your candidate number, booking reference, device and operating system versions, the exact step where it fails, what you already tried, and your screenshots. A clear written record makes it far easier to ask for a reschedule without losing the fee. Do not accept “this is your last reschedule” without asking in writing what the policy says and whether the fault was recorded as a technical one.

If your set-up keeps failing, consider switching to a test-centre format, where the venue supplies the equipment. First check that your regulator accepts it and that a date is available before your deadline — see OET for the ECFMG pathway for the timeline, and what to do if results are delayed if a deadline is close.