get your microphone working on Google Meet in 7 ways

Few things are more frustrating than trying to join a conference call only to find that no one can hear you. When your Google Meet microphone isn’t working, it can suddenly drop out of a meeting, but the good news is that it’s easy to troubleshoot and fix. Get your microphone working on Google Meet in 7 ways

get your microphone working on Google Meet

Make sure your microphone works well outside of Google Meet

When it comes to diagnosing problems with hardware such as microphones, it helps to make sure that the microphone itself is working, and then proceed to check whether it is working properly with services like Google Meet.

To do this, test the microphone in a non-Meet app.

In Windows, for example, try recording audio and sound recording.

Click Start and type “save“.

Click Recorded Sound when you see it in the search results, then make a test recording to see if the microphone is working.

Be sure to select the same microphone you want to use in Google Meet, if there is more than one option.

If you’re having trouble with another device, like your phone, check that you can record audio with an app on that device instead. Audio Recorder for Windows.

Check that no other applications are using the microphone

Common problems you may encounter when starting a video call:

For some reason another app uses the microphone and that app doesn’t launch the microphone when Meet needs it.

The result is that Meet cannot transmit any sound. If you know an app that uses a microphone, close it and restart Google Meet. If you are not sure which app is available, restart your device.

You can turn off most Android phones by holding down the power button for several seconds, or from the top of the screen and clicking the Power icon in the shortcut panel.

Make sure Google Meet is allowed to use the microphone

Permissions can be tricky, and it’s possible that you’ve accidentally denied Google Meet permission to use a microphone in the past.

On iPhone, launch the Settings app and tap Privacy & Security.

Tap the microphone and make sure Meet is turned on by clicking the button on the right. If you have Android, launch the Settings app and tap Apps.

Click See all apps and then click Meet.

Tap Permissions, then tap Speaker, then turn it on by selecting Give only when using an app or request every time.

If you’re using Windows, go to the Settings app and select Privacy & Security, then reset the microphone.

Make sure to allow apps to access your microphone and allow desktop apps to access your microphone by right-clicking.

Or, if you’re using a Mac, open System Preferences, then select Security & Privacy.

Click on the privacy tab.

Click the lock icon below to open the page.

Click the microphone on the left and make sure Meet is turned on and checked.

Make sure your browser has access to Google Meet

If you’re trying to use Google Meet in the Chrome browser, also make sure it’s set up correctly.

Open Chrome, type “chrome://settings/content/microphone” and press Enter.

In the default behavior section, make sure that the site may ask for your microphone to be selected.

Next, start Google Meeting and click on the camera icon in the address bar at the top of the screen.

Select Allow https://meet.google.com to access your camera and microphone, then click Done.

Camera and microphone settings are allowed in Chrome.

Check your microphone settings in Google Meet

Another common problem is that Google Meet may be trying to use the wrong microphone. This can happen quickly if you have multiple webcams or microphones connected to your device.

Especially on Windows, you can, for example, find that Meetings use the microphone of the VR headset that is located across the room instead of the webcam mic that is attached to the lid of your laptop.

To check, start Google Meet in a browser and click the three-dot button at the bottom of the page, then click Settings from the pop-up menu.

Click the Audio tab, and look at the drop-down menu.

If necessary, select another microphone and close the window.

Restart your phone

If you’ve experienced this and nothing is working, it’s possible that a software glitch is preventing Google Meet from working properly.

Update your device’s operating system

Finally, if nothing else has solved the problem, you can update your device’s operating system.

Windows should automatically install new updates, but you can check by clicking the Start button and typing “update.”

Click Check for Updates, then click the Check for Updates button.