Google Meet has become one of the standard solutions for video conferencing. And it’s a perfectly acceptable option, whether you’re participating in a business meeting or chatting with friends and family. However, like any software, Google Meet is not perfect, and you may run into some problems along the way. If you’re having problems, this guide will help you get back up and running as quickly as possible.
Problem: Unable to join or start a meeting
If you’re having trouble joining an existing Google Meet video meeting or creating a new meeting, first make sure you’re logged into your Google account or Google Workspace – you can do this by visiting the Google website and clicking the blue Sign In button. If you are a Google Workspace user, you may need to check with your administrator to see if Google Meet is enabled for your organization in the Google Admin console.
Problem: No login number is specified for a meeting
Currently, only meetings created by Google Workspace users will have a dial-in number that allows meeting attendees to call the meeting using their phone. In addition, while the U.S. supports the dial-in feature, not all countries in the world are included in this feature. It’s also worth noting that while all Google Workspace users have access to the dialing feature for calls in the U.S. and Canada, dialing overseas requires an additional subscription to Google Meet Global Dialing. If you have such a subscription and want to call countries outside of the U.S. and Canada, be sure to check with Google to make sure the country you want supports the dialing feature.
Error: Educational users can’t connect to the network because of domain boundaries
If you use a Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals or Education Plus account, there is a known bug where the meeting creator must be present to approve or deny requests to join from outside the domain. As a result, if the meeting creator is absent from the call, users outside the domain will not be able to join the call and the Ask to Join page will crash. Until this problem is fixed, the best solution is to ensure that the meeting creator remains in the meeting until all participants with external email addresses are present.
Problem: Your meeting appears as full
If you can no longer add more participants to the meeting, you may have reached your subscription limit. Personal Google accounts and G Suite Basic accounts have a limit of 100 participants. Education Fundamentals accounts are also limited to 100 members, and G Suite Business, Business Standard and Essentials accounts can have up to 150 members. For Business Plus and Enterprise customers, Google Meet can have up to 250 participants. However, for Enterprise Essentials customers, the maximum number of participants is still limited to 150. Education Plus accounts can also have up to 250 participants.
Problem: Your camera or microphone was denied access
When you first join a Google Meet conference, the system asks for permission to use your camera and microphone. If you are accidentally denied by the system, you can change your response by following these steps:
Step 1: Visit the Google Meet website, preferably using Google Chrome.
Step 2: Click the New Meet button, and then select Start Instant Meet from the menu that appears.
Step 3: In the address bar of your Chrome browser, click the Camera Locked icon (small camera with a red X).
Step 4: Click Always allow https://meet.google.com access to the camera and microphone.
Step 5: Click Done. A message may appear after that – if it does, just click Reject. Refresh the web page to see that the camera and microphone have accessed and are now working.
Step 6: When you refresh the web page, you will exit the meeting and return to the “Ready to Join? This screen will allow you to check if your camera and microphone are working by clicking the Check Your Audio and Video button. This will take you through the steps necessary to test your microphone and webcam by recording a short clip of your conversation. If the hardware works fine and you are satisfied with the quality of the recording, you can click Join Now on the Ready to Join? screen to join the meeting.
Problem: People can’t see your camera when working on macOS
In recent versions of macOS (Mojave and later), you need to allow Chrome or Firefox to use your webcam. This is a security measure to make sure that unauthorized apps aren’t using your webcam or microphone when they’re not supposed to.
Note: Make sure your camera is properly connected before performing these steps. If your webcam is available in other applications, such as FaceTime or Photobooth, proceed.
Step 1: Click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 2: Select System Settings.
Step 3: Select Security and Privacy settings.
Step 4: Select Privacy > Camera.
Step 5: Make sure Google Chrome or Firefox is checked.
You can also follow these same steps if your microphone is disabled. In step 4, select the Microphone option instead of the Camera option.
Bug: Drop-down menus don’t show up when you share your screen
The Google team is currently aware that when you share a window in Google Meet, the drop-down menus do not appear. If you want drop-down menus, the best option at this time is to share the entire screen rather than a specific window.
Problem: Unable to present a presentation on macOS
In MacOS Catalina or later, you need to allow the browser to record the screen before presenting. To enable this option through the System Preferences application, follow these steps:
Step 1: Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 2: Select System Preferences.
Step 3: Select the Security and Privacy setting.
Step 4: Select Privacy.
Step 5: Select Screen Recording.
Step 6: Make sure that Google Chrome or Firefox is checked.
Problem: Poor video quality during a call
Several factors can affect the quality of a video call. For starters, make sure you’re using a high-definition webcam from a reliable manufacturer. (If you don’t have a very good webcam, there’s not much we can do to help). Also, make sure that the network you’re on is high speed and can support the call. If you’re still having problems, try closing other browser tabs and applications that may be using resources. Finally, if you’re using a VPN, try disconnecting from it, as it can slow down your connection.
Crash: Google Meet is completely unavailable
You may have noticed that Google is experiencing some issues with its Meet service. You can find more information in the Google Workspace Status Panel. A green icon next to Meet means that everything is working as it should, while an orange/yellow or red icon indicates a problem that may explain why you can’t connect at the moment.
Problem: Unable to open Google Meet on mobile devices
Visit the App Store on your iOS device or the Play Store on your Android device to make sure your version of Google Meet is up to date. Google only supports mobile versions of Meet for six months, after which older versions of the app may no longer work correctly. Alternatively, uninstall the app and then reinstall it from the appropriate app store on your mobile device.
Failure: Unable to schedule meetings all day
Google has stated that conference rooms added to all-day events will be “scheduled according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC),” which can lead to an error that makes it impossible for you to schedule an all-day meeting. You can solve this problem by manually scheduling the event for 24 hours (using the Date and Time drop-down fields) rather than selecting the All Day option when scheduling a meeting.
