Testing notes
What we check before publishing a guide
The short version of the testing behind the blog, including the tools used and the limits of what a small site can verify.
Devices and browsers
Most checks run on a Windows computer with current Chrome, Firefox and Edge, an Android phone and an iPhone. When an article mentions a specific app, the screenshots and menu names come from that app on the version installed at the time of writing. Older Android skins and older iOS releases can differ, and the article says so where it matters.
Audio checks
A bitrate printed on a button is not evidence. To see what a file really contains, we open it in Spek and look at the frequency ceiling. A track that claims 320kbps but stops at 16kHz was not encoded from a full range source. For container details we use ffprobe, which reports the codec, bitrate and sample rate stored in the file header.
- Spectrum cutoff, to spot upscaled or re-encoded files.
- Codec and container, to confirm the file is the format it claims to be.
- Audible artifacts, such as smeared cymbals or pre-echo on loud percussive passages.
- File size against duration, which catches a 0KB or truncated download quickly.
Download behaviour
A download guide is only useful if the download works. We check where the file lands, whether the browser shows progress, what happens when the tab is backgrounded, and whether the finished file opens in a normal player. On Android we look at the Download and Music folders and at the media scanner. On iOS we check the Files app and a third party player. On Windows we check the Downloads folder, the file extension and the ID3 tags.
Page and widget behaviour
The search box, the suggestion list, the preview player and the download panel are separate pieces. We test them separately. That means typing a query with the keyboard, choosing a suggestion with the mouse, opening a preview and closing it again, and checking that closing a panel stops the audio. If a third party widget fails, the article should make clear which part is outside the site's control.
What we do not claim
This is a small site, not a security laboratory. We do not scan files against dozens of antivirus engines, we do not run every download through a packet analyser, and we do not certify that a third party service is free of advertising. Those claims appear on many converter blogs and are difficult to support. What we can do is describe the checks a reader can repeat, and point out the warning signs that do not need a laboratory: an executable extension, a request to install a codec, or a page that opens three tabs at once.
How often this changes
Browser download behaviour and mobile file managers change with updates. Articles that depend on a menu path are reviewed when a reader reports a difference or when a major operating system release lands. The updated date at the top of each article shows the last revision. A guide with an old date is not necessarily wrong, but it is worth checking the current menus before following it step by step.
Repeating the tests
Everything described here can be done with free tools. Install Spek or open the spectrum view in Audacity, run ffprobe from a terminal if you want the header details, and use the file manager on your own phone. A result that cannot be reproduced by a reader is not a result worth publishing.